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updated on: December 20, 2016 01:40 IST
Russia has described
the killing of Andrey Karlov at an art exhibition in
Ankara as a terror attack.
A gunman assassinated
Russia’s ambassador to Turkey on Monday, shouting ‘Don’t
forget Aleppo’ as he opened fire on Andrey
Karlov at an art exhibition in Ankara.
Russia’s foreign ministry described the
shooting, which was captured on video, as a
“terror attack.”
“We are currently in contact with Turkish
authorities, who are assuring us that a
thorough, comprehensive investigation will be
conducted,” foreign ministry
spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in remarks
broadcast on Russian television.
“Murderers will be punished. Terrorism won’t
sustain. We’ll fight it.”
Drama
unfolded when Ambassador Andrey Karlov, 62, was giving a speech at the
opening
ceremony of a photo exhibition.
The shooter, now identified as
on social media as Mevlüt
Mert Altıntaş, 22, an off-duty police officer from the Ankara special forces department,
repeatedly shot Karlov in the back at close range, shouting: “We die in Aleppo,
you die here!” Altintas was later shot dead by police,
according to local media.The horrific scene was caught on camera by
journalists at the gallery to cover the event.
Footage shows the gunman, dressed in a suit and
tie, pacing the gallery while brandishing a gun in one hand and waving the
other in the air.It is believed he used his police ID to bypass
security staff at the exhibition. One pro-Kremlin news website reported that
Karlov was shot 11 times.
The fatal attack follows days of protests in
Turkey over Russia’s role in Syria.
The
shooting of the ambassador is the latest in a long string of attacks in Turkey
this
year,
although it’s the first in recent memory to be directed at a foreign dignitary.
The
United States condemns the gun attack on the Russian ambassador to Turkey
earlier
on Monday, the US State Department said.
“We
condemn this act of violence, whatever its source,” said US State Department
spokesman
John Kirby in a statement, “Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his
family.”
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