Turkish police shot dead a suspected suicide bomber outside the Justice Ministry on Friday, the NTV reported.

The television showed footage of the suspected suicide bomber who approached the ministry and tried to detonate explosives before he was shot by police.

Meanwhile, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported that when the man tried to enter the building of the ministry, X-ray security check equipment beeped.

The suspect then tried to run away while security personnel at the ministry were waiting for bomb experts, said the report.

Police officers first shot the running suspect on the foot and tried to stop him and later shot at his head since he ignored warnings.

Minister of Justice Cemil Cicek, who was in his office at the time of the shooting, was quoted as saying that the incident is being investigated by legal authorities.

Police cordoned off the area in front of the ministry. Bomb experts were analyzing materials found on the bomber, among which was an ID card bearing the name of Muharrem Akyurt.

Kurdish militants, leftist and Islamic groups are active in Turkey and have carried out bombing attacks in the past.

In November 2003, four suicide bomb hit British and Jewish targets in Turkey's largest city of Istanbul and killed more than 60 people.

Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Source: Xinhua