ISTANBUL, Turkey — Gunmen believed inspired by al-Qaeda stormed a guard post at the U.S. Consulate on Wednesday, touching off a firefight that killed three police and three assailants in the latest sign of Turkey’s difficulty in clamping down on homegrown militants.
The bearded gunmen emerged from a car and shot a traffic officer dead, then swarmed the guard quarters at the entrance to the consulate, where two policemen were killed, according to security video. Officers fired back, killing three of the assailants — all Turks — as bystanders fled for cover. At least one attacker escaped in the car.
An officer told reporters that police suspected the armed men were linked to al-Qaeda even though the assault did not match the group’s usual hallmarks.
The suspects may have been inspired by al-Qaeda ideology without the capability to carry out a more sophisticated attack, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
No staff members at the consulate, a relatively new building perched on a hill and surrounded by high walls, were hurt, U.S. Ambassador Ross Wilson said.
Wilson and Istanbul’s governor branded the assault a terrorist attack. Security around all U.S. diplomatic missions in Turkey was immediately increased, and the consulate canceled visa interviews for today.
Turkish authorities have been increasingly targeting suspected Islamic militants since al-Qaeda-linked suicide bombers killed 58 people in 2003 at two synagogues, the British Consulate and a British bank in Istanbul.
Turkey also has been cracking down on ultranationalists who have attacked Christians and on Kurdish rebels, two groups it deems a threat to the country’s security.
