<\/p>\n
Turkish police on Tuesday shot dead a man and a woman belonging to a leftist \u201cterrorist\u201d organisation who attacked a security checkpoint outside Istanbul\u2019s main courthouse, injuring six people, officials said.<\/p>\n
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the assailants were members of the Revolutionary People\u2019s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) \u2014 a fringe leftist group that has staged periodic attacks in Turkiye since the 1980s.<\/p>\n
The group issued no initial claim of responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the terrorists who attempted to attack were neutralised, six people, including three police officers and three citizens, were injured,\u201d Yerlikaya said in a social media statement.<\/p>\n
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said \u201cheroic police officers prevented a treacherous attack\u201d, adding that prosecutors had launched a \u201cmulti-faceted investigation\u201d.<\/p>\n
Images from the scene showed two bodies lying on the ground outside the main entrance of the Caglayan courthouse, which has been used for some of Turkiye\u2019s biggest trials.<\/p>\n
Police sealed off the courthouse entrances as a security precaution.<\/p>\n
Pakistan strongly condemned the terrorist attack targeting the Courthouse complex and reaffirmed its \u201cresolute solidarity\u201d with Turkiye in the fight against terrorism.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe extend our heartfelt condolences to the brotherly people and government of Turkiye and pray for the swift and complete recovery of those injured in this heinous attack,\u201d a statement released by the Foreign Office said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
Turkiye has begun to emerge from a violent spell which started a decade ago, when it was hit by repeated bombings and other attacks linked to jihadist fighters and Kurdish militants.<\/p>\n
Although those attacks have largely died down, both Istanbul and the capital Ankara remain on high alert.<\/p>\n
Last month, one man was shot dead<\/a> by two gunmen who opened fire inside a Catholic church in Istanbul. The attack was claimed by Islamic State group jihadists.<\/p>\n