İlker Girit
03 March 2016•Update: 04 March 2016
ISTANBUL
Istanbul’s governor has said two police officers were injured amid a gun and grenade attack in the city on Thursday morning.
Two female assailants were "neutralized" in a follow-up operation, Governor Vasip Sahin confirmed.
Istanbul police identified the two dead assailants as Cigdem Yaksi and Berna Yilmaz, police sources told Anadolu Agency the pair were members of the terrorist Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).
The DHKP-C is listed as a terrorist organization also by the U.S. and the EU.
That organization has carried out a number of attacks in Turkey, including on U.S. diplomatic missions and Turkish security forces.
One police officer was injured in the initial attack in the Bayrampasa district; the second was wounded as police pursued the assailants.
Sahin said the attack was carried out by the two women at 9.45 a.m. [0745GMT], adding that the terrorists were killed later.
The two injured officers are in a stable condition, the governor added.
The attackers had taken refuge in a building after the daylight assault on police.
Two females shot at a passing police transport and threw grenades at the entrance to a Riot Police Directorate building before officers responded.
Security footage showed one of the attackers throwing a hand grenade at a passing police bus but the device failed to explode.
The two attackers could also be seen firing weapons at a police checkpoint at the entrance of the building.
After a short shootout, the pair fled the scene. Witnesses said that one of the assailants was wounded.
Police launched an operation backed by helicopters and Turkish special forces.
The attackers were trapped in a building after the pursuit.
