By Xinhua,
Ankara : An armed attack on Turkish police outside the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul Wednesday was “an obvious act of terrorism” aimed at the United States, U.S. Ambassador Ross Wilson to Turkey told reporters.
The ambassador said, “This was an attack on an American diplomatic establishment. The persons who lost their lives are Turkish citizens and we are very sad about that.”
Wilson said security measures were beefed up at the consulate as well as at the U.S. embassy in Ankara and the consulate in the southern city of Adana, near which a major Turkish air base is often used by U.S. aircraft.
He said, “Our countries stand together in the fight against international terrorism.”
Turkish President Abdullah Gul strongly condemned the terrorist attack outside the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul.
He said, “Unfortunately, three police officers were martyred in a terrorist attack outside the U.S. consulate earlier in the day. I offer my condolences to their families.”
“Turkey will fight against those who masterminded such acts and the mentality behind it till the end. Everybody has already seen that terrorism would not serve anything,” Gul said.
Turkish Anatolia news agency quoted U.S. Consul in the southern province of Adana Eric Green as saying, “We are grateful to the Turkish police for the bravery they displayed.”
“We always take the necessary measures for our security, and will continue to do so. We receive great support from the Turkish police, and very happy with our relations with them. I don’t want to make speculations. I don’t know which terrorist organization is responsible for the attack,” said Green.
Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler confirmed on Wednesday that a security guard and two traffic policemen were killed in a shootout near the police post at the visa entrance of the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul, and three attackers were also killed in the shooting.
The most recent attack on a foreign mission in Turkey was in 2003 when al-Qaida militants detonated a car bomb outside the British consulate in Istanbul, and simultaneously attacked the British HSBC bank.