Breaking: Armed Militants Attack U.S. Consulate In Turkey, 6 Dead

Okay, the only reason I didn't put "Armed Jihadists" in the title here is because I'm not sure if these are your typical al Qaeda types or if possibly these are PKK-linked militants. I'm sure we will get the details soon as three of the dead are the attackers. The other three dead are Turkish policeman in the city of Istanbul. Look at the description of what happened from Breitbart:

Armed men attacked a police guardpost outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday, and the ensuing clash killed three officers and three of the assailants, officials said.
At least one of the assailants opened fire at the post near the consulate's main entrance at about 11 a.m., a U.S. embassy spokeswoman said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The attack occurred right outside the high-walled consulate compound in Istanbul's Istinye district.
Yavuz Erkut Yuksel, a bystander, told CNN-Turk television the attackers emerged from a white vehicle and surprised a guard.
"One of them approached a policeman while hiding his gun and shot him in the head," Yuksel said.

This certainly doesn't sound much like al Qaeda as they would have been more likely to have driven the white truck up filled with explosives and let it rip. But who knows...Turkey has a myriad of bad elements in it and while this obviously was directed at the U.S., there are some ways the Turks may spin this. If I had to guess, we will get some unknown terrorist cell claim responsibility for this and they will have some link to the PKK who will then claim this attack was to penalize the U.S. for allowing Turkey's operations against the PKK in Iraq. But that's just a guess. Al Qaeda has hit Turkey before and may have at least influenced this attack.

I've said for a long time that Turkey will be one of the great barometers of the movement of radical islam in this world. The Turks are in a real battle to protect their tradition of secularism throughout their government and it is ripe for attack from the radical islamists as well as growing pressure from the islamist political parties. Believe me, there are many in Turkey that want to turn it into Iran West.

Attack outside US consulate in Turkey, 6 dead

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Armed men attacked a police guardpost outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday, and the ensuing clash killed three officers and three of the assailants, officials said.
At least one of the assailants opened fire at the post near the consulate's main entrance at about 11 a.m., a U.S. embassy spokeswoman said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
There were no reports of casualties among American consulate employees, she said.
"Three policemen were martyred and three attackers were killed," Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler told reporters at the scene.
Guler said a policeman and a tow-truck driver were also injured.
Authorities were trying to identify the attackers, he said.
The attack occurred right outside the high-walled consulate compound in Istanbul's Istinye district.
Yavuz Erkut Yuksel, a bystander, told CNN-Turk television the attackers emerged from a white vehicle and surprised a guard.
"One of them approached a policeman while hiding his gun and shot him in the head," Yuksel said.
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.
The secure U.S. 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.