Türkİye

Man with knife arrested outside Israel's Ankara embassy

Turkish authorities say knife-wielding man – shot in leg by police – has no terrorist links

Handan Kazancı, Aness Suheil Barghoti  | 21.09.2016 - Update : 22.09.2016
Man with knife arrested outside Israel's Ankara embassy

Ankara

ANKARA

A man was injured and arrested after trying to enter the Israeli embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara, security sources said on Wednesday.

The man -- identified by Ankara Governorship as 38-year-old Konya-born Osman Nuri Caliskan -- began shouting slogans and brandishing a knife concealed in a newspaper, the anonymous sources added.

A police officer posted at the embassy in the Gaziosmanpasa district in the south of Ankara, opened fire, injuring the individual in the leg after he ignored repeated warnings by police to drop his weapon.

Caliskan was taken to Ankara’s Numune Training and Research Hospital.
Roads around the embassy were closed after the incident and specialist police officers were sent to the scene.

An investigation was launched.

Ankara Governorship said in a statement Caliskan had no links with terrorist organizations, but his appearance suggested mental illness.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon confirmed in a statement that the knife-wielding person was shot before reaching the embassy gate. 

Israeli Embassy in Ankara said in a statement that the suspect “tried to stab a Turkish police officer” in front of the embassy.

“There is no casualty or injury, and the Embassy staff is in peace,” the statement said.

“The Embassy trusts the Turkish forces to control and investigate the incident,” it added.

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