Turkish police shot and killed a man and a woman associated with a leftist “terrorist” group who tried to attack a security checkpoint outside Istanbul’s main courthouse, injuring six people, officials reported.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya identified the attackers as members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), a small leftist organization known for sporadic attacks in Turkey since the 1980s.
“The terrorists who tried to attack were stopped, but six people, including three police officers and three civilians, were injured,” Yerlikaya stated on social media.
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Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc praised the police for preventing the attack and mentioned that prosecutors had initiated an investigation.
Photos from the incident showed two bodies on the ground outside the courthouse’s main entrance, a site for significant trials in Turkey.
Authorities closed off courthouse entrances for security reasons.
Turkey has been recovering from a violent period that began around a decade ago, marked by bombings and other assaults attributed to jihadist militants and Kurdish groups.
Although such attacks have decreased, Istanbul and Ankara remain vigilant.
In a recent incident, two gunmen shot a man in a Catholic church in Istanbul, claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group.
In October, attackers injured two policemen in Ankara’s government district, an assault claimed by Kurdish militants.
Turkey responded by intensifying airstrikes against Kurdish targets in Syria and Iraq.
The DHKP-C notably carried out a suicide bombing at the US embassy in Ankara in 2013, killing a Turkish security guard.
Designated a terrorist group by the US, the DHKP-C opposes American influence in the Middle East and globally.
In 2014, the US offered a $3 million reward for the capture of the group’s leaders.
