Three Killed in Shooting Near Israeli Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey

A gun attack near the building housing Israel’s consulate in Istanbul left three people dead and two police officers wounded, according to Turkish media reports.

Reuters footage from the scene showed a police officer drawing a weapon and taking cover as shots rang out. In the video, one person could be seen lying covered in blood.

Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu said three people were involved in the shooting and were later “eliminated” by Turkish police.

The area around the consulate is a busy, densely populated part of Istanbul filled with businesses, including international firms, with “thousands” of people working nearby, Koseoglu said.

She added that the Israeli consulate is located on the seventh floor of a high-rise in the district.

“The eyewitness that I spoke to … he was just smoking with his colleague, and three people came in a car, tried to open fire, and then the security fired them back,” Koseoglu said in her report from Istanbul.

There are no Israeli diplomats serving at the consulate building in Istanbul, and no Israeli diplomats are stationed at the Israeli embassy in Ankara, Koseoglu said, meaning the staff inside those missions are largely local employees.

Authorities have not yet provided details about who carried out the attack or what may have motivated it.