US Consulate In Istanbul Closes To Public For Unspecified Period After Gun Attack By Marxist Group

Six members of Turkey's security forces were killed in a series of attacks targeted at the U.S. consulate in the country. Turkish authorities accused Marxist and Kurdish radicals of being responsible for the attacks.

The attacks are believed to be in retaliation for the state-backed anti-terror campaign against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants and Islamic State forces.

Two armed female militants launched a gun attack early Monday against the U.S. consulate located on the outskirts of Istanbul. One of the women was injured in a clash with police and was later arrested.

The two attackers are from the Marxist Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (DHKP-C), claimed the outlawed organization itself. Agence France-Presse reported one of the militants was identified as Hatice Asik.

Gulf News reported that Turkey, a NATO member country, had been on high security alert after starting a "synchronized war of terror" in July. Turkish forces launched airstrikes against PKK militants in northern Iraq and ISIS forces in Syria.

This was not the first time the DHKP-C launched an attack in the country. In 2013, it claimed a suicide bomb attack at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.

A representative from the U.S. consulate confirmed that there had been a “security incident” and the building was kept closed to the public for an unspecified period. According to a Turkish official in Ankara, the DHKP-C was involved in the U.S. consulate attack while the PKK was involved in a police station bombing in Istanbul.

However, it was the People's Defense Units that claimed responsibility for the Istanbul police station attack through its official Twitter account.