Turkey police detain suspect claiming to have bomb outside U.S. consulate

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police detained a suspect outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul who claimed to have a bomb, the consulate said on Friday. Police sealed off a street outside the consulate and removed the suspect's car after checking it for explosives, according to a Reuters cameraman at the scene. The consulate said it had taken measures to protect its staff and visitor "An individual claiming to have a bomb parked a vehicle in front of the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul," the consulate said. "A suspect was apprehended by local authorities and the vehicle was removed without incident." Dogan News Agency said police had detained a man, believed to be mentally unstable, for questioning. Istanbul police said in a statement a 33-year-old man with the initials E.C. had been subdued and detained, although they did not find him to be carrying illegal materials during a search of his person and car. Istanbul has been on high security alert since January, when a suicide bomber blew herself up at a police station in the historic Sultanahmet district, killing one officer and wounding another. (Reporting by Murad Sezer, Ayla Jean Yackley and Daren Butler, Editing by Angus MacSwan)