Attacker 'neutralised' attempting to storm Israeli embassy in Ankara

There has been an attempted attack on the Israeli embassy in Ankara, according to local media reports and Israeli officials.

According to CNNTurk the incident took place around midday local time when a person with a knife tried to enter the heavily guarded embassy in the Gaziosmanpasa district and was shot in the leg by security officers in front of the building.

The suspect was identified as 38-year-old Osman Nuri Calıskan from the Central Anatolian province of Konya. Calıskan is reported to be a construction worker and allegedly suffers from mental problems, according to the Hurriyet news agency.

Anakara's governors office said in a statement that he had no links with terror organisations.

A suspicious package outside the embassy is still being examined.

Earlier Turkish broadcaster NTV reported that the incident occurred as two people were trying to enter the embassy building, with one person "injured and neutralised".

The embassy said its staff were not injured in the attack.

"The staff is safe. The attacker was wounded before he reached the embassy," an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman toold Reuters by text message. "The assailant was shot and wounded by a local security man," the spokesman added.

Last week several people were arrested after allegedly plotting attacks against the British and German embassies in Anakara.