Man shouting 'Allahu Akbar' is shot and injured as he attempted to storm Israeli embassy in Turkey armed with a knife

A man wielding a knife and shouting 'Allahu Akbar' has been shot and injured by a security guard after trying to storm the Israeli embassy in Turkey. It is believed the attacker, named as 41-year-old Turkish national Osman Nuri Caliskan,
launched the stabbing attack at the office in Ankara while shouting 'God is Great'. 

But was caught by security before reaching the entrance to the building and had the 12 inch knife wrapped inside newspaper.

Turkey's NTV television said the attacker tried to enter the well-defended embassy but was 'neutralised' by being shot in the leg after ignoring a police warning to stop. 

A spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry says that the attacker apparently armed with a knife was slightly wounded in the incident.

In a statement they said: 'The team members are unharmed. The assailant was injured before he reached the building.'  

The health condition of the attacker was not made clear. It was also not clear if the person had been shot by Turkish security forces or embassy guards.

However, the Ankara governor's office said the man did appear to be mentally unstable and does not appear to have any links to any organisation.  

Large numbers of police vehicles were dispatched to the scene and the road closed on which the building is located, an AFP correspondent said. Witnesses said they heard several shots fired.

CNN-Turk television said a suspicious package was also being investigated in front of the embassy.

The attack comes three months after Turkey and Israel signed a deal to restore their ties which hit an all-time low after the 2010 raid by Israeli commandos on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship that left 10 Turks dead.

Under the deal, Turkey and Israel are to begin the process of exchanging ambassadors to fully restore their diplomatic ties although this has yet to formally take place.

Despite the crisis, the Israeli embassy in Ankara and consulate in Istanbul have carried on working in the last years, under heavy security.

The incident also comes with foreign missions in Turkey on a state of high alert following a spate of attacks across the country this year blamed on jihadists and Kurdish militants.

The British embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara was closed on Friday over security concerns while the German embassy offered only limited services.- Daily Mail