Turkish authorities have detained 10 people in connection with a shooting on Tuesday near the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing state media reports.
One attacker was killed and two others wounded in an exchange of fire with police near the building that houses the consulate in the city’s main financial district.
The two wounded assailants are among those detained and are being questioned in hospital. Eight additional suspects were arrested in operations in Istanbul and the nearby province of Kocaeli.
Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said the three attackers had ties to a group that “exploits religion,” without elaborating. Two of the attackers were brothers who traveled to the scene in a rented car from the city of Izmit, he said.
The attacker killed at the scene was identified as Yunus Emre Sarban, who had previously been linked to financial networks tied to the Islamic State terrorist group, leading to his assets being frozen in 2021, according to Ankara’s Official Gazette.
The investigation into the attack is ongoing.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote in a post on X after the attack, “We strongly condemn the terrorist attack on the Israeli consulate in Istanbul today. We appreciate the Turkish security forces’ swift action in thwarting this attack.”
“Terror will not deter us,” it added, noting that Israeli missions around the world have been subjected to numerous threats and attacks.
Israeli-Turkish relations have plunged to new lows in the wake of the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing war in Gaza, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emerging as one of the most vocal supporters of the Palestinian terror group.
