International
Istanbul security forces kill 2 women
04 Mar, 2016
Two women attackers in Istanbul fired on a police compound Thursday before being fatally shot by authorities during a standoff, officials said, in an assault claimed by a leftist militant faction.
The attack follows a series of bombings across Turkey blamed by authorities on both Kurdish rebels and the Islamic State.
The latest violence, however, was claimed by a Marxist-inspired cell that has staged sporadic attacks in Turkey since the 1990s as part of a campaign against Turkey?s Western-allied government and security forces.
he women were cornered by police in a building after the ambush-style attack on a riot police station in the Bayrampasa neighborhood, a residential and industrial district in the city?s European side, said Istanbul Gov. Vahip Sahin. Two policemen were injured.
A statement from the militant group, the Revolutionary People?s Liberation Army-Front, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on a website believed linked to the faction, the Reuters news agency reported.
The same group has been linked to several high-profile attacks in recent years, including coordinated strikes around Istanbul in August that included gunfire outside the U.S. Consulate. It also carried out a suicide bombing on the U.S. Embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, in 2013 that killed a security guard.
Last month, a suicide car bombing targeted buses carrying military personnel in Ankara, killing 29 people. A Kurdish militant group claimed responsibility.
In January, a suicide bomber believed linked to the Islamic State set off a blast in the heart of Istanbul?s tourist district, killing 12 German tourists. (Courtesy Washington Post)
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