US Consulate in Istanbul Attacked

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As many of you know, the secular rule of Turkey is slowly eroding, and the militant Islamists are trying to wrest power away. The Military is still strongly wedded to the idea of a secular government in Turkey, but the executive and legislative powers have moved strongly to the side of an Islamic state.

Turkey has long been a strong ally of both Israel and the US and a shining example of how a country dominated by Moslems can still welcome Jews and xtians into a broad coalition government, but it won’t be long before the Islamists, through terror and out-right war, may push Turkey over the edge.

The terrorists know, with Turkey on their side, they will have Israel completely surrounded, and the US will lose it’s protective military bases.

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Jul 9, 2008 12:41 | Updated Jul 9, 2008 16:11
3 policemen killed in Istanbul attack
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
ISTANBUL, Turkey
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215330909851&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Armed men attacked a police guard post outside the US consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday, an assault in which the city's governor said three policemen and three attackers were killed.

A US Embassy spokeswoman said there were no reports of casualties among American consulate employees, but could not confirm Turkish media reports of injuries and deaths.

"Three policemen were martyred and three attackers were killed," Gov. Muammer Guler told reporters at the scene, adding that authorities were pressing to identify the attackers and any group to which they belonged.

"At about 11 a.m., at least one assailant opened fire on the Turkish police guard post area near the main entrance to the consulate," the US embassy spokeswoman said, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter.

"We're cooperating with the police and taking the appropriate measures," she said.

The attack occurred right outside the high-walled consulate compound in Istinye district.

Yavuz Erkut Yuksel, a bystander, told CNN-Turk television the attackers emerged from a white vehicle and surprised the guard.

"One of them approached a policeman while hiding his gun and shot him in the head," Yuksel said.

Guler said two people, including a policeman and the driver of a towing vehicle, were also injured.

Television footage showed four people lying on the ground at the foot of the consulate's wall. Medics were seen trying to help one of them.

There was no immediate comment from police or authorities.

The secure US consulate building was built after homegrown Islamic militants linked to al-Qaida carried out suicide bombings in 2003 that targeted two synagogues, the British Consulate and a British bank in Istanbul, killing 58 people.