Turkish authorities have taken 10 people into custody in connection with a gun attack that unfolded on Tuesday near the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, according to Turkish media reports on Wednesday. The shooting occurred outside a tower building in the city's principal financial district that houses the consulate.
Police engaged in an extended gun battle with the attackers at the scene. One of the assailants was killed and two others were wounded during the confrontation with law enforcement, the reports said.
State-owned news agency Anadolu reported that those detained include the two wounded attackers, who are being questioned in hospital while they receive medical treatment. The remaining eight suspects were arrested in operations carried out in Istanbul and in the nearby province of Kocaeli following the attack, Anadolu said.
Officials have offered few details publicly. The interior ministry declined to comment on the detentions, and both Istanbul police and the prosecutor's office were not immediately reachable for comment, the reports said. Authorities have not specified a motive for the assault and the investigation remains active.
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack posted on X describing the incident as an attack on the Israeli consulate and condemning it, the media accounts stated.
Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci told authorities that the three attackers had links to a group that "exploits religion," though he did not provide further specification, according to the reports. Ciftci added that two of the attackers were brothers who had travelled from the city of Izmit in a rented car.
An interior ministry source identified the attacker who was killed at the scene as Yunus Emre Sarban. The government has previously connected Sarban to financial networks with ties to the Islamic State militant group; his assets were frozen in 2021, according to the government's Official Gazette.
At this stage investigators remain engaged in questioning the detained suspects and gathering evidence. Public details are limited and authorities have so far refrained from providing a full account of motives or wider links. The case continues to be handled by law enforcement and prosecutors as the inquiry progresses.