In a shocking development, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov was assassinated today while giving a speech at an art gallery in Ankara.
Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that Karlov died from his wounds.
Karlov was giving a speech at the event, hosted by the Ankara Center for Contemporary Art, when he was shot in the back about five times.
Three other bystanders were reportedly shot and taken to the hospital. Their condition is unknown.
The gunman — who was wearing a suit and had a police ID which allowed him to bypass the gallery's security — was shot and killed by Turkish police. He has been identified as 22-year-old Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, a police officer from Ankara police special force department, according to photos of an ID found on him after he was killed.That's the assassin standing behind Karlov below.
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| (Photo: Burhan Ozbilici/ AP) |
Moments after shooting Karlov --
The gunman, who graduated from İzmir Rüştü Ünsal Police Academy in 2014, shouted that the assassination was revenge for Aleppo, according to footage of the incident.
"The assassin shouts in Arabic: We've made an oath to Muhammad to die in martyrdom ... [It is] a revenge for Syria and Aleppo," Syrian journalist and Middle East analyst Hassan Hassan noted on Twitter.
He then shouted in Turkish: "Don't forget Aleppo. Don't forget Syria...You won't be safe. Only my dead body will leave here." [snip]
The gunman was apparently standing behind the ambassador when he fired a few shots in the air and told the people inside the gallery to leave. He then shot Karlov, according to witnesses who spoke to Turkish media.
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(Photo: Burhan Ozbilici/ AP)
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