A gunfight outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul left one attacker dead and two others detained, Turkish authorities said.
The Interior Ministry said the man found “captured dead” had ties to a “terrorist group that exploits religion.” Officials described the incident as a “provocation” and said the motive remains under investigation. Earlier media reports had suggested two attackers were killed.
Broadcaster CNN Türk reported armed individuals tried to reach the seventh floor of the consulate building in the Levent district. Video showed an assailant carrying what appeared to be an assault rifle and wearing a brown backpack, hiding behind a bus as he exchanged fire with police. Images and footage captured a large police presence around the consulate.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said the two suspects taken into custody had been wounded; two police officers sustained minor injuries. The detained men were identified as brothers Onur C. and Enes C. Onur reportedly has a prior criminal record related to drugs. The Interior Ministry said both are being interrogated. It did not name the group suspected of being involved, though the Islamic State has carried out attacks in Turkey in the past.
Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said the attackers had been identified and had traveled from Kocaeli province by rental car. Prosecutors in Istanbul have opened an investigation.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “treacherous attack” and vowed to fight “all kinds of terrorism.”
An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the consulate was not staffed at the time. Israel had withdrawn diplomats from Turkey after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and the ensuing Gaza war. In a post on X, the ministry called the incident a terrorist attack and praised the swift response of Turkish security forces, adding that “terror will not deter us.”
US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack also lauded Turkey’s security forces for their “swift and decisive response.”
Edited by: Wesley Rahn