Terror has struck Turkey again – a policeman and a court worker were killed and 10 people were wounded by a car bomb and gun attack in Izmir, but more casualties were avoided when 2 of the terrorists were killed before they could use their grenades and rocket launchers.
An explosion believed to have been caused by a car bomb in front of a courthouse in the western Turkish city of Izmir on Thursday killed a policeman and a court worker and wounded some 10 people, a local official said. Two of the suspected terrorists were killed in an ensuing shootout with police.
District Mayor Hasan Karadag told NTV television that one of the wounded was in serious condition. A firefight between three of the suspected terrorists, who were armed with machine guns, grenades and rocket launchers, and police erupted after the explosion, and two of the terrorists were killed, he said.
Turkey’s state-run news agency said police are looking for a third suspect, described as wearing a black coat and a white beret.
Izmir is Turkey’s third largest city.
Several ambulances and police were dispatched to the scene. The explosion occurred near an entrance used by judges and prosecutors, several media reports said.
The incident follows a string of attacks, carried out by the Islamic State (ISIS) group and by Kurdish PKK militants, that have left Turkey on edge.
Thirty-nine people were killed in a nightclub attack in Istanbul during New Year’s celebrations. ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack. While suspects have been detained in connection with that massacre, the terrorist still remains at large.
By: AP and World Israel Staff