Three dead after police, leftist shootout in Istanbul (Roundup)

Apr 27, 2009, 10:55 GMT

Ankara - A shootout between police and a leader of a radical left-wing group in Istanbul ended Monday morning with a police officer, the militant and an innocent by-stander dead, according to Interior Minister Besir Atalay.

The five hour standoff began when Orhan Yilmazkaya - a leading figure in far-left Revolutionary Headquarters group - threw hand grenades as police raided an apartment block in the suburb of Bostanci on the Asian side of the city before dawn.

Soon after the confrontation started Yilmazkaya made an announcement via a radio using a police frequency, saying that he was prepared to die.

'We won't surrender, we will fight until the last drop of our blood. We have enough hand grenades and ammunition. I want to speak to the head of police,' Yilmazkaya said, according to the Anadolu news agency.

The police officer who was in charge of the raid, Semih Balaban, was badly injured in the shootout and later died in hospital. A civilian onlooker was killed when he was shot in the head.

The standoff ended five and a half hours later with Yilmazkaya's death. Police then searched the building for explosive devices, carrying out at least one controlled explosion.

Initial reports that Yilmazkaya had two accomplices with him later proved to be incorrect.

A further six police officers and a television cameraman were also injured in the shootout.

Atalay said the Revolutionary Headquarters group was responsible for a bomb blast in December at the Istanbul headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Six people were injured in that blast. The minister claimed that the group had links with the separatist Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), and had received logistical help from them.

In addition to the Bostanci raid, police raided some 60 houses and work places in Istanbul arresting around 40 people, Atalay said.

'Explosives, C-4, weapons, bomb fuzes and similar materials were seized,' Atalay told reporters in Istanbul.