One person has been killed and two alleged attackers shot dead at a court in Istanbul in what authorities are describing as a “terrorist act”.
Authorities said six people were wounded on Tuesday, including three police officers. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later said one of the wounded died in hospital but did not say whether the victim was a civilian or a police officer.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but officials blamed the incident on the leftist armed group Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C).
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X that the shooters were killed in a gun battle after they opened fire on a checkpoint near the Caglayan court in Istanbul.
The suspects, a man and a woman identified only as EY and PB, were alleged members of the DHKP-C, listed as a “terrorist group” in Turkey, he said.
The DHKP-C has waged a campaign against the Turkish state since the 1980s.
Footage from the scene in the aftermath of the incident showed a heavy police presence at the entrance to the court with entry and exit points closed.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said prosecutors launched an investigation into the attack.
“The Republic of Turkey will continue to fight against all terrorist organisations and those who support them,” Erdogan said at an earthquake commemoration ceremony in the southern city of Kahramanmaras. “I would like to pray for the soul of the injured person who lost their life.”
Unrest
The attack is the latest to hit Turkey as the war in Gaza spreads tensions across the Middle East. It follows closely in the wake of several other attacks in Turkey.
Masked gunmen, purportedly members of ISIL (ISIS), stormed a church in Istanbul last month during Sunday Mass and killed one person. Authorities have since arrested many people over their suspected involvement in the attack or links to the group.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) armed group, which has also waged a bloody campaign against the Turkish government for decades, launched a suicide attack on the Ministry of Interior in the capital, Ankara, in October.
Authorities reacted by bombing Kurdish positions in northern Iraq and have since arrested hundreds of people with purported links to Kurdish groups.
