3 Police and 3 Gunmen Die in Attack on U.S. Post in Turkey

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PARIS -- Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Turkish security guards outside the United States Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Wednesday and at least three officers were killed, the governor of Istanbul said.

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Times Topics: TurkeyGovernor Muammer Guler, quoted by Reuters, said one of the policemen died at the scene after a 15-minute gun battle.

Three attackers were killed and others were being sought, the semi-official Anatolian news agency said.

Crowds and police milled around the 15-foot high high walls sheltering the American compound and police cordoned off the area. A helicopter was seen hovering above. Television footage showed one body lying on the ground, but news reports from Istanbul said up to six people may have died.

American officials said no employees or officials at the consulate had been killed.

The attack was the first on a diplomatic mission in the city since 2003 when 62 people were killed in assaults on the British consulate, a bank and two synagogues.

The consulate is a heavily fortified building and some news reports said the incident involved gunmen in a white car who opened fire on a police post located at an entrance to a perimeter wall. The news reports said three gunmen got out of the car and opened fire on the security officers outside the consulate. The driver was said to have escaped in the car.

The consulate was for many years located in the center of the city in a bustling area near Taksim Square. But it was relocated five years ago to the Istinye area near the Bosphorous Straits to be better protected from terrorist attacks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which took place in a quiet side street lined with apartment houses.

In a statement, the consulate said: ‘’ "At approximately 11 a.m. at least one assailant opened fire near the Turkish post at the main entrance of the consulate. We have no reports that any American consulate employees were injured in the attack.”

Several consular officers were absent from the building at the time of the attack, attending a meeting hosted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Susanne Fowler contributed reporting from Paris.