On Monday, two women opened fire at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. A minimun of eight people were executed in a wave of different attacks on Turkish security forces, just a few days after Ankara started a crackdown on far-left militants, Kurdish and ISIS, as per The Daily Star.
The NATO comrade has been in an intensive state of alert since launching its "sychronized war on terror" a month ago, which included airstrikes against ISIS fighters in Kurdistan and Syria Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq.
A far-left group claimed involvement in the attack on the U.S. consulate on Monday. This same group also reportedly murdered a Turkish security officer in a 2013 suicide bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.
Another terrorist group, The Revolutionary People's Liberation Army-Front (DHKP-C), said one of its members has a hand in the attack and named Washington the "arch enemy" of the population from the Middle East and the world.
Authorities armed with automatic rifles secured the streets around the U.S. consulate in the Sariyer area on the European part of Istanbul.
A resident who saw the attack, Ahmet Akcay, told Reuters that one of the women open fired targeting consulate officers and security officials.
"Police were shouting 'drop your bag, drop your bag.' And the woman was saying: 'I will not surrender,'" said Akcay.
"The police warned her again: 'Drop your bag or we will have to shoot you,' and the woman said: 'Shoot.'"
The Istanbul governor's office said one of the two women was eventually arrested while wounded.
A consulate officials stated, "We are working with Turkish authorities to investigate the incident. The Consulate General remains closed to the public until further notice."
Meanwhile, Gulf News Turkey reported, a car filled with explosives was used in an intrusion on a police headquarters, injuring seven civilians and three police officer, said the police.
According to NBC News, the attack at the U.S. Consulate began just hours after the announcement of the U.S. military that a contingent of six F-16 fighter jets have landed at Incirlik Air Base in the southern part of Turkey to participate in the battle against ISIS militants.
