Turkey holds 34 people after alleged terrorist attack at Istanbul court

One person was killed and six injured at the Caglayan Court

Shooting kills at least one at Istanbul court building

Shooting kills at least one at Istanbul court building
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One person was killed and six injured when militants shot at a police checkpoint in front of a court building in Istanbul on Tuesday, in what Turkey called an attempted terrorist attack.

Police killed the two shooters, who were believed to belong to the DHKP-C group, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

After the attack, 34 people were detained, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters.

Mr Tunc said the three police officers wounded were in a good condition. One of the four civilians wounded died in hospital, he said.

The DHKP-C, the Revolutionary People's Liberation Army-Front, is an outlawed Marxist organisation considered to be a terrorist group by the US, EU and Turkey.

It has been blamed for attacks and suicide bombings in Turkey since 1990. Authorities have carried out several operations against the group over the years, detaining and killing dozens of its members.

Footage of the attack shows two shooters firing at the court building checkpoint with civilians around.

It shows one of the shooters being killed while civilians escaped, and the other was shot dead by police behind a metal gate shortly afterwards.

One dead in attack at Istanbul court - in pictures

Banu Polat, a witness, said there had first been an attack inside the court building, but authorities have not confirmed this or provided further details.

"The two terrorists were neutralised by our police officers on duty before they could reach their despicable aims," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an event in the south-eastern Kahramanmaras province. He earlier put the number of casualties at six.

Mr Yerlikaya described the incident at the Caglayan Court as "an attempted terror attack".

Last month, masked ISIS gunmen killed one person at a church in Istanbul during Sunday Mass.

Authorities have since captured several people suspected of being linked to the group or the attack.

Updated: February 06, 2024, 7:50 PM