Turkish prosecutor, 2 captors killed in hostage standoff

Jane Onyanga-Omara | Special for USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Militants take Turkish prosecutor hostage Turkish officials said negotiations were underway Tuesday with gunmen who have taken hostage and threatened to kill the prosecutor of a high-profile political case.

ISTANBUL — A Turkish prosecutor and his two captors were killed Tuesday after a shootout with police at an Istanbul courthouse, bringing a six-hour hostage standoff to a bloody end.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the prosecutor died of the gunshot wounds he sustained in a police shootout with the hostage takers, who also died.

It was unclear who fired the shots that killed the prosecutor, identified as Mehmet Selim Kiraz. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had been shot three times in the head and twice in the body. Erdogan said the hostage takers had dressed up as lawyers in order to sneak arms inside the courthouse.

Officials said they tried to negotiate with the gunmen before storming the courthouse where Kiraz was being held hostage.

"Because of gunshots heard from inside the prosecutor's office, our security forces carried out an operation," Istanbul Police Chief Selami Altinok said.

In televised remarks, the prime minister condemned the killing, while praising officials "who made every effort to save our prosecutor and intervened when necessary." Davutoglu identified the militants as Safak Yayla, 24, and Bahtiyar Dogruyol, 28.

Kiraz was the lead prosecutor in a controversial case over the death of Berkin Elvan, a teenager killed after being hit in the head by a police tear gas canister during the 2013 Gezi Park anti-government protests.

Suspected members of an outlawed leftist group stormed the courthouse earlier Tuesday, taking Kiraz hostage and giving authorities three hours to meet their demands, including forcing policemen held responsible for the teenager's death to confess.

The militants belong to a group affiliated with the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C), a banned Marxist group that has waged a long-running battle against the Turkish state and its security apparatus.

Live television footage showed police and special forces officers entering the courthouse as it was being evacuated. Turkish authorities later imposed a media ban on coverage of the hostage crisis. At around 8:30 p.m. local time, gunshots were heard and smoke was seen rising from the scene.

Elvan was one of thousands injured in anti-government protests in Turkey. The teenager, who was then 14, had gone out to buy bread when he was struck with a tear gas canister thrown by police during street battles with demonstrators in Istanbul. He died after spending nearly nine months in a coma.

Elvan's death sparked a new round of protests across Turkey. Since then, he has became a symbol of the alleged police brutality faced by protesters throughout the nationwide Gezi demonstrations.

Kiraz was appointed the prosecutor in the Elvan case six months ago. No charges have been brought so far against any suspects, and the investigation into Elvan's death continues.

The DHKP-C is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Turkey and the European Union. It is anti-American and anti-NATO.

The group, established in 1978, has targeted Turkish security officials, as well as American military contractors. Its high-profile attacks included the assassination of two U.S. military contractors, as well as a rocket attack against the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul in 1992. In February 2013, a suicide bomber linked to the DHKP-C attacked the U.S. Embassy in the capital Ankara, killing himself and a guard.

The standoff came as Turkey was crippled by the largest power outage in more than a decade. Dozens of cities and more than 40 provinces went dark, bringing public transportation to a halt and disrupting some air travel.

The blackout wreaked havoc in Istanbul, Turkey's most populous city. Metro and tram services were shut, while darkened traffic lights led to traffic jams.

By late afternoon, power was largely restored to Istanbul and was gradually being resupplied to other provinces. The Turkish Electricity Transmission Company blamed the outage on a problem with the country's power transmission network. Davutoglu, the prime minister, said all possible causes were being investigated, including terrorism.