A suspected left-wing extremist was among three people killed Monday during a six-hour shootout at his Istanbul apartment, Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay said.A police officer and a civilian were also dead following the drama in the heart of the Asian side of the Turkish metropolis that began when police launched an early-morning raid on the flat. The extremist - an alleged leader of an underground group known as the Revolutionary Headquarters - was alone in the premises with a large stockpile of weapons and explosive devices. Resisting arrest, he exchanged gunfire with police who surrounded the building in Bostanci, a busy residential neighbourhood. Specialised police units rushed to the scene, and a number of explosions were heard.
The civilian who died was outside the security perimeter when he was hit in the head by a stray bullet, the interior minister said. Slightly injured was a television cameraman, hit by a ricochet on the ear. The raid was part of a wider police operation aimed at foiling attacks by left-wing extremists and the banned separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Istanbul governor Muammer Gueler said. By mid-day Monday, around 40 people had been arrested in Istanbul, he said.