Turkish police officers carry coffins of the three colleagues who were killed in a shootout with gunmen outside the US Consulate in Istanbul, 10 Jul 2008

Turkish media say police have detained an attacker who fled after a deadly shooting outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday.

The media report that authorities caught him Thursday after locating his car and began interrogating him. The man is thought to be one of four militants involved in the attack on the U.S. consulate, which triggered a gun battle that killed three gunmen and three policemen.

Turkish police Thursday detained four other people suspected of links to the attackers. Interior Minister Besir Atalay says it appears the attack was a suicide mission.

Turkish authorities are investigating whether al-Qaida was involved, but security experts say the shooting was less sophisticated than most al-Qaida attacks.

The United Nations Security Council issued a statement Thursday condemning the shooting as a "reprehensible act of terrorism."

The council said all terrorist attacks are "criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation."

Turkey has seen violent attacks by a variety of groups in recent years, including leftists, Kurdish rebels and radical Islamists.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.