• Two police officers suffer light injuries during 10-minute shootout.
• Assailants arrive from Izmit; one linked to terrorist group: officials.
• Erdogan condemns attack, vows to maintain security environment.

A gunman was killed and two others wounded in a shootout on Tuesday with police outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, Turkish officials said, adding that two officers were lightly wounded.

Governor Davut Gul confirmed the killing of one of the assailants during the attack that took place around 12:15pm (0915 GMT).

It was not immediately clear if the intended target was the Israeli consulate. No Israeli diplomats “are currently on Turkish soil”, a source familiar with the matter told AFP.

Israeli diplomatic missions had been evacuated “not only in Turkiye but throughout the region for security reasons” shortly after the October 7, 2023, attacks by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Israeli soil, according to the same source.

Israel said it would not be cowed down while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “treacherous attack” and vowed to fight “all kinds of terrorism”.

“We will not allow … provocations to harm Turkiye’s climate of security,” Erdogan said in a televised speech.

“We appreciate the Turkish security forces’ swift action in thwarting this attack. Israeli missions around the world have been subjected to countless threats and terrorist attacks. Terror will not deter us,” the Israeli foreign ministry posted on X.

Turkiye’s Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said the assailants came in a rented vehicle from Izmit, a city about 86 kilometres (50 miles) away and that one of them was linked to an “organisation that exploits the region”.

The ministry later clarified that the dead gunman “had connections with a terrorist group” and said two policemen were “slightly injured”.

The remaining two assailants were brothers and one has a drug record, it added.

Footage showed one attacker armed with an automatic rifle, dressed in beige cargo pants and black top and carrying a backpack.

“I saw gunfire suddenly break out … It went on for quite a while,” a witness who wished to remain anonymous told AFP.

‘People panicked’

“I saw a police officer collapse. People panicked,” he said.

Turkish officials would not immediately reveal the group but local media said it could be Daesh, whose members clashed with police in Yalova — which lies on the Sea of Marmara about 90 kilometres (55 miles) southeast of Istanbul.

Daesh militants opened fire on police in Yalova in December, killing three officers and wounding nine.

Turkish police have stepped up nationwide raids against Daesh militants, rounding up 125 suspects after that attack.

Television images on Tuesday showed police officers opening fire near a busy thoroughfare and an injured person being carried away on a stretcher.

Turkish media reported that the shootout lasted for about 10 minutes.

A large police presence was deployed in front of the consulate, located in the Levent business district on the European side of Istanbul, AFP journalists witnessed.

They also saw bloodstains on the ground in an adjacent parking lot.

The immediate vicinity of the consulate sees heightened security measures even under normal circumstances, as the area is cordoned off by police barriers.

Istanbul public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation while the state-run TRT television reported that three suspects were detained.

“The United States condemns in the strongest terms today’s attack on the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul,” US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said on X.

“Attacks on diplomatic missions are attacks on the international order — and an assault on the principles that bind nations together,” he added, while commending Turkiye and Turkish security forces for “their swift and decisive response”.

Daesh has carried out deadly attacks in Turkey including one at a nightclub in Istanbul that killed 39 people in 2017.

Tensions in the Middle East have disrupted the delivery of imported goods from Dubai, leading to an increase in prices of computers, laptops and related spare parts in local markets.

Supply delays have pushed up costs for consumers, while repair work has also become more expensive, affecting citizens relying on electronic devices.

Traders cited shipment disruptions as a key factor behind the rising prices.

Israeli journalist Amit Segal has admitted he was the first to report that a US airman in Iran had been rescued, in a rare public confession that comes as US President Donald Trump threatens to force the reporter behind the disclosure to reveal their source or face jail.

According to Newsweek, Segal confirmed that he broke the story based on information from his sources, but said he would not reveal who provided it.

“I will safeguard my sources at all costs,” Segal said, highlighting the pressure journalists can face when reporting on sensitive military developments.

The report emerged in the aftermath of a high-stakes US military operation after an F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over southwestern Iran on April 3. One of the two officers onboard was rescued soon after the crash, while efforts to recover the second continued for two days, fuelling concern in military and diplomatic circles.

Against that backdrop, Trump on Monday sharply escalated his criticism of the press, saying he would demand that the journalist who first reported the rescue identify how they obtained the information.

Trump said the disclosure had endangered the ongoing mission to recover the second airman, although that officer was later also rescued safely.

“We didn’t talk about the first one for an hour. Then somebody leaked something, which, we will hopefully find that leaker. We’re looking very hard to find that leaker,” Trump told a White House press conference.

“We’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re going to say, ‘National security, give it up or go to jail'”.

It was not immediately clear which specific media outlet or reporter Trump was referring to. Multiple news organisations, including The New York Times, CBS News and Axios, reported within a short span that one of the two airmen had been recovered by US rescue forces after the fighter jet was brought down over Iran on Friday.

The White House did not immediately respond when asked which journalist Trump was threatening.

Trump’s remarks marked a significant intensification of his administration’s attacks on the media. 

In recent weeks, he has privately complained to aides that coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran has been overly negative, while he and his allies have also publicly criticised several news organisations over their reporting on the conflict.

The pressure on broadcasters has also grown. Last month, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr wrote on X that broadcasters airing “fake news” had an opportunity to “correct course before their licence renewals come up”.

His post was accompanied by a screenshot of a Truth Social post by Trump, in which the president claimed that “Lowlife ‘Papers’ and Media actually want us to lose the War.”