Gunmen shoot 11 policemen in bus attack

Three unidentified gunmen raked a police bus with automatic weapons, wounding 11 officers in Istanbul, police said.

Three unidentified gunmen raked a police bus with automatic weapons, wounding 11 officers in Istanbul, police said.

Private television NTV said 11 officers were injured and four were in critical condition.

A police officer in Istanbul confirmed that a police bus had been attacked in Gazi. He said authorities had made an appeal for blood donations, but gave no other details.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in the low income district of Gazi.

NTV showed images of the bus with stains of blood on its floor and seats. The windscreen and side windows were dotted with bullet holes. The bus was full of riot police when it was attacked at 7:50 p.m. (1750 GMT) just outside Gazi.

The attack came a day after police killed one leftist militant and wounded two others in a clash also in Istanbul. The militants belonged to the outlawed Marxist Leninist Communist Party.

Meanwhile, scores of police searched the neighborhood for the assailants. There is a permanent heavy police presence in Gazi, a predominantly leftist and Kurdish neighborhood, where activists have often clashed with police.

Leftist, Kurdish and radical Islamic militants are active in Istanbul.