An assailant wielding a knife was shot and wounded by the Turkish police in Ankara on Wednesday after he attempted to storm in the Israeli embassy.
"The staff is safe. The attacker was wounded before he reached the embassy. The assailant was shot and wounded by a local security man," an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
The man was armed with a 30-centimetre knife, as he ran towards the embassy shouting slogans and was subsequently shot in the leg, the governor's office in the Turkish capital said in a statement.
The suspect, who was described as mentally unstable, had attempted a knife attack and was trying to barge in the embassy. The assailant reportedly had no previous record of links with any militant groups.
The Turkish police said that the suspect shouted "Allahu Akbar" before he was shot in the leg and wounded by the police. The area surrounding the embassy was cordoned off as police examined the contents of his bag.
The suspect was apprehended by the security official at the outer perimeter of the secured zone of the Israeli embassy, the spokesperson added.
A florist working nearby the embassy, Suat Gencer, said that he heard four shots being fired and he ran to the embassy to see what happened. "I saw a man who had been shot in the leg. I didn't see a knife but other witnesses said he had a knife and he would set a bomb off, Gencer told AFP.
Although it was not clear whether there was just one assailant, as the Turkish media initially reported that there were two attackers trying to storm in the embassy. The suspect was identified by a private broadcaster NTV as a resident from the central city of Konya.
Foreign missions in Turkey have been put on high alert following a recent spade of militant attacks in the country.
