By Xinhua,
Ankara : An armed attack outside the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul killed at least three police officers on Wednesday, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
Unidentified assailants opened fire on police officers at an entrance of the U.S. Consulate building in Istinye neighborhood, according to the report.
A clash occurred between the assailants and police officers, leaving at least three police officers dead, it said.
The report added that some citizens were wounded in the clash, and were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.
One of the killed police officers was working in the consulate, and the other two were traffic police officers, it said.
Local NTV reported that two policemen were killed and several others wounded in the armed attack outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul. It said earlier that four were killed in the shootout, among them one policeman and three attackers.
Turkish police have launched an operation to capture the armed assailants who ran away from the scene by a motor vehicle.