Three policemen and three gunmen were killed in an armed attack on the US consulate in Istanbul yesterday, the city’s governor said.
A witness said the attackers drove a car up to the high-walled compound situated outside Istanbul city center and overlooking the Bosphorus waterway around 11am. Three jumped out as the car halted and began firing at the police checkpoint, a witness told NTV television.
Conflicting eyewitness accounts say the shootout lasted between eight and 15 minutes.
“Three policemen were martyred and three attackers were killed,” Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler told reporters at the scene, adding that authorities were pressing to identify the attackers and any group to which they belonged.
One policeman died on the spot, while two others succumbed to their injuries in hospital. Another policeman and the civilian driver of a police truck were injured.
Prosecutors specializing in terrorism cases had launched an investigation into the incident, Guler said, adding that guns and rifles were seized at the scene.
Television footage showed four people lying on the ground at the foot of the consulate’s wall. Paramedics were seen carrying out heart massage on one of those lying on the ground. The shirt of one of the men was ripped open. Blood was flowing from the head of another person.
“They [assailants] were four people. Three of them got out of the car and fired at the police. I saw them dead afterwards lying on the ground and many more dead among the police,” said Enis Yilmaz, who was going to the consulate for a visa application.
He said the other person drove off in a vehicle.
One of the dead police officers was working at the consulate while the other two were traffic officers.
Ulus Durgut, 24, who was going to the heavily guarded compound on the European side of Istanbul, said the gun battle lasted 15 minutes.
“The terrorists were bearded men and had long hair,” Durgut said, still shaking.
Broadcaster CNN Turk said one of the attackers had a Syrian passport.
US embassy spokeswoman Kathy Schallow said there were no reports of casualties among American consulate employees.
“We’re cooperating with the police and taking the appropriate measures,” she said.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was