34 people detained after Istanbul courthouse attack, shooters killed

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said police had killed the two shooters, whom he said were believed to belong to the DHKP-C group.

 Turkish police stand guard outside the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church after two masked gunmen were shooting during Sunday service, in Istanbul, Turkey January 28, 2024. (photo credit: DILARA SENKAYA/REUTERS)
Turkish police stand guard outside the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church after two masked gunmen were shooting during Sunday service, in Istanbul, Turkey January 28, 2024.
(photo credit: DILARA SENKAYA/REUTERS)

A civilian was killed, and six others were wounded when leftist militants shot at a police checkpoint in front of a courthouse in Istanbul on Tuesday in what Turkey called an attempted terrorist attack.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said police had killed the two shooters, whom he said were believed to belong to the DHKP-C group.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters that 34 people had been detained without giving further details. He said the three police officers wounded were in good condition. One of the four civilians wounded died in hospital, he added.

The DHKP-C is responsible for multiple terror attacks in Turkey

The DHKP-C, the Revolutionary People's Liberation Army-Front, is an outlawed Marxist organization considered a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, and Turkey.

It has been blamed for a string of attacks and suicide bombings in Turkey since 1990. Authorities have carried out several operations against the group over the years, detaining and killing dozens of its members.

 A Turkish police armoured vehicle drives outside the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church after two masked gunmen were shooting during Sunday service, in Istanbul, Turkey January 28, 2024.  (credit: DILARA SENKAYA/REUTERS)
A Turkish police armoured vehicle drives outside the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church after two masked gunmen were shooting during Sunday service, in Istanbul, Turkey January 28, 2024. (credit: DILARA SENKAYA/REUTERS)

Footage of the attack shows two shooters firing at the courthouse checkpoint with civilians around. It shows one of the shooters being killed while civilians escaped, and the other was shot dead by police behind a metal gate shortly afterward.

Banu Polat, a witness, said there had first been an attack inside the courthouse, but authorities have not confirmed this or provided further details of the incident.

"The two terrorists were neutralized by our police officers on duty before they could reach their despicable aims," President Tayyip Erdogan told an event in the southeastern Kahramanmaras province. He earlier put the number of casualties at six.

Yerlikaya described the incident at the Caglayan Courthouse as "an attempted terror attack."

Last month, masked Islamic State gunmen killed one person at a church in Istanbul during Sunday mass. Authorities have since captured several people suspected of being linked to the group or the attack.