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Shots fired at U.S. Consulate in Istanbul


Two people opened fire at the U.S. Consulate building in Istanbul on Monday, Turkish media reports said.

No one was injured in the assault, Turkey's Anadolu news agency said.

One of the alleged suspects, a woman, was detained by police after she hid in a nearby building.

Anadolu named the suspect as 42-year-old Hatice Asik and said she belongs to the far-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Army-Front, or DHKP-C.

In 2013, DHKP-C claimed responsibility for an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Ankara that killed a security guard.

The incident Monday followed an overnight bomb attack on a police station in Istanbul that killed a police officer and three assailants. Ten people, including seven police officers, were wounded.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for either attack, although the violence comes amid renewed tensions between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, a group that for decades has sought more political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey.

Ankara has also recently taken a more active role in the fight against Islamic State militants across the border in Syria.

On Sunday, U.S. F-16 fighter jets deployed to Turkey's southern air base to join the U.S.-led coalition fight against the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS.

The U.S. Consulate in Istanbul was subsequently closed Monday while the attack was investigated.