U.S. consulate in Turkey attacked

Men armed with pistols and shotguns attacked a police guard post outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on Wednesday, sparking a gunbattle that left three attackers and three officers dead.

Turkish and U.S. officials called the shooting a terrorist attack. The U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Turkey’s foreign ministry said security around all American diplomatic missions in Turkey had been increased.

Yavuz Erkut Yuksel, a bystander, told CNN-Turk television the attackers emerged from a vehicle and surprised the guard. “One of them approached a policeman while hiding his gun and shot him in the head,” Yuksel said.