Police fire teargas at protesters in Turkey (file)
Police fire teargas at protesters in Turkey (file)Reuters

An armed attacker was arrested on Thursday in front of the prime minister's office housed in Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, after he threw a grenade at police that failed to detonate.

The Turkish Hurriyet Daily News notes that the officers were conducting "the watch of respect" in honor of modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, when they came across the man.

He then lobbed a hand grenade at the palace's guard post, but it did not explode, with officers rushing to arrest and handcuff him. He was found also to have an automatic weapon and homemade explosive on his person.

Police blockaded the area and launched a search to check if the attacker had any accomplices, while the suspect was brought in for questioning. The main road in front of the palace was closed to traffic, and a bomb disposal team was sent to the site.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regularly frequented the office at the palace during his term as prime minister. There has been rising resentment against Erdogan in the country, fueled in large part by the tragic disaster at a mine in Soma last May.