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Istanbul Hostage Crisis: Blasts, Gunfire Reported at Courthouse

© AFP 2023 / OZAN KOSE Turkish riot police take position on March 31, 2015 in Istanbul in front of the courthouse
Turkish riot police take position on March 31, 2015 in Istanbul in front of the courthouse - Sputnik International
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Several blasts and gunfire were heard in the courthouse in Istanbul. It was reported the prosecutor was heavily wounded and taken to the hospital, an Istanbul police chief said.

It was reported the prosecutor was heavily wounded and taken to the hospital, an Istanbul police chief said.

The police may have launched an operation to free the hostage. However, Turkish authorities have not confirmed the information yet.

Gunfire has been heard in the video that had apparently been shot during the rescue operation in Istanbul.

Turkish security forces and several ambulance cars are waiting outside the building.

A Turkish TV station said that two militants from the far-left group the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party Front (DHKP-C) had been killed during the shootout with police.

Members of special security forces stand outside the main courthouse in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, March 31, 2015. - Sputnik International
Far-Left Turkish Group Takes Istanbul Prosecutor Hostage
The head of Istanbul police said police had negotiated for 6 hours with the hostage-takers.

A Turkish prosecutor, Mehmet Selim Kiraz, has been held hostage by an armed far-left group the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party Front in a courtroom in Istanbul.

Kiraz has been leading an investigation into the death of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan, who was hit on the head by a police officer in June 2013, during a mass anti-government rally in Istanbul. He died in March 2014, following 269 days in a coma.

The group demanded to arrest those responsible for Elvan's death, otherwise they threatened to kill the prosecutor.

The Turkish Prime Minister's office has reportedly imposed a temporary media ban on Tuesday on coverage of the hostage-taking situation involving a prosecutor in Istanbul, citing "national security" concerns.

The DHKP-C is a radical leftist group, founded in 1978 as Revolutionary Left, and then re-branded in 1994. The organization is considered a terrorist group in Turkey, after carrying out several attacks.

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