Attackers open fire at police car in Istanbul, no casualties

Unknown gunmen opened fire at a police car in Istanbul on Thursday, but no casualties were reported, Turkish media said.

The attackers shot at a police car which was escorting a judiciary shuttle bus on a busy highway in Istanbul's district of Esenler during the evening rush hour, the Hurriyet daily reported.

It said the assailants escaped under the cover of the darkness.

Earlier in the day, two armed women attacked a riot police headquarters in Istanbul with hand grenade and gunfire.

Both women were later killed in a police operation after being chased into a building, while two police officers were wounded in the shootings.

The Istanbul police have identified the two assailants as members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), an offshoot of a Marxist-Leninist movement, Turkey's Anadolu agency said.

The DHKP-C, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United State and the European Union for carrying out a number of attacks in Turkey, has claimed responsibility for the attack on the police station.

Istanbul security forces have been put on high alert in the aftermath of the two separate attacks and an extensive operation has been launched, the Hurriyet said. Endit