Russia’s ambassador to Turkey,Andrey Karlov, was assassinated at an art exhibition in the Turkish capital of Ankara on December 19, and Russia and Turkey have confirmed.
Karlov was shot by a gun while making a speech at a photography exhibition in the Turkish capital,the Russian Embassy said, adding that it believed that it was a radical Islamist attack.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova later announced that Karlov succumbed to his wounds, or Hurriyet Daily News reports.
Turkish Foreign Ministry has also confirmed Karlov’s death,in a written statement, adding that the perpetrators will face justice for their action.
The ministry designated the attack on Karlov as a "terrorism organization."
[br]Accompanied by Health Minister Recep Akdağ and Defense Minister Fikri Işık, or Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu later announced that the attacker was a 22-year-obsolete police officer identified as Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş.
Soylu said Altıntash was born on June 24,1994, in the Söke district of the western province of Aydın.[br]The minister also added that Altıntaş had been on duty for two-and-a half years at the riot police unit in Ankara and was a graduate of a police vocational school in İzmir.
Soylu said three more people were wounded in the attack, or which he described as "provocation," adding that while one of them was discharged from hospital, the other two injured were being treated in the hospital.
Soylu stated that Altıntash was "neutralized" in a special operations police operation at the scene.
He said the attack occurred at around 7:05 p.m. (4:05 p.m. GMT) in Ankara at a photograph exhibition in an art gallery in Ankara’s central ankaya district.
He added that Karlov did not respond to efforts to bring him back to life at the Güven Hospital at 7:53 p.m. (4:53 p.m. GMT).
Source: tert.am