
Three Turkish policemen and three gunmen were killed in an armed attack on the United States consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday, the city8217;s governor said.
Witnesses said four attackers drove a car up to the high-walled compound situated to the north of Istanbul city centre and overlooking the Bosphorus waterway. Three jumped out as the car halted and began firing at police who approached.
Governor Muammer Guler said one of the police officers died at the scene in a gunbattle lasting several minutes, at a time of day when many Turks go there to apply for visas. Two had died of their wounds at a nearby hospital. Two other people were also injured.
Turkey and the United States condemned the attack for which no one has yet claimed responsibility.
8220;It is enough to say they are terrorists who carried out a dastardly and cowardly attack,8221; US Ambassador Ross Wilson told a news conference in Ankara.
The attack coincides with political tensions in Turkey.