"We were in the tram with my husband, his sister and my son. We got out of the tram and we heard a sound like "boom" and three or four gunshots. Then police cars, ambulances, and police on scooters with guns passed by us. We came here, and saw that the road was blocked."
Turkish police arrested two people Wednesday after a hand grenade was hurled and shots were fired at officers guarding Istanbul's Dolmabache Palace, an Ottoman-era palace that is a major tourist attraction.
One police officer was slightly injured, according to the country's state-run news agency.
A 48-year-old tourist from Poland described hearing an explosion and gunshots as she and her family were nearing the palace on a day of sightseeing. Margarita Paban said the incident would not discourage her from remaining in Istanbul for more tourism.
Police apprehended two people in an area close to the palace and seized two hand-grenades, an automatic rifle, a hand gun and a large amount of ammunition, a statement from the Istanbul governor's office said. It did not identify the suspects or give a motive for the attack.
However, the state-run Anadolu Agency said the two assailants are members of the outlawed leftist group the Revolutionary People's Liberation Army-Front, or DHKP-C. It did not cite a source for the report.
