American Consulate Attacked in Istanbul

Friends,
They following is sad and somewhat graphic please continue at your own risk.

It is with great sadness I tell you that the American consulate, here in Istanbul, was attacked by unknown gunmen today. Early in the afternoon a grey Ford Focus approached the consulate and 3 men got out. They murdered one Turkish police officer by sneaking up on him and shooting him in the head with a pistol. The other gunmen produced shotguns and began to fire at the Turkish police. A 6 minute long firefight ensued claiming two more law officer's lives and injuring two more. All of the gunmen were killed but the driver escaped.

No one else was harmed.

This attack has already been linked to Al-Queda by the American Press but there are many things about it that don't make any sense. No one here actually knows anything except that the attackers were Turkish. I mean come on, 4 guys attack the US consulate with no body armor and nothing more than pistols and a few shotguns. The US ambassador is calling it an act of terror and I suppose it is but what I can't figure out is what they expected to achieve.

I abhor violence in all its forms and this is no exception. Please take a moment to remember the Turks that died today to protect Americans.

If you would like more information please take a moment to read attached BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7497049.stm

P.S. You may have missed this in the American news as it has already been removed from CNN.