Russian ambassador in Ankara shot dead in gun attack (Updates)

RT
Mon, 19 Dec 2016 17:44 UTC

© Russian Embassy in Turkey

Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov

The Russian ambassador to Turkey has died after being shot by a gunman in Ankara, where he was attending a photo exhibition, the Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed.

"This is a tragic day in the history of Russian diplomacy. Today, Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov died after being shot at during a public event in Ankara," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Monday evening.

The assault on the Russian ambassador is an "act of terrorism," she added.

"We are in touch with Turkish officials, who assured us that there will be a thorough and comprehensive investigation [into the case]," Zakharova said.

The ambassador, Andrey Karlov, was shot as he was delivering a speech on the opening of the exhibition "Russia in the eyes of Turks."

Photos purportedly showing the perpetrator bearing a firearm are now increasingly circulating on social media. Users are also posting pictures which they say show the Russian ambassador lying on the ground after having been shot.

The perpetrator, who was wearing a suit and a tie, shouted 'Allahu Akbar' ('God is great' in Arabic) during the attack.

Following the shooting of Karlov, the assailant shouted: "Don't forget Aleppo! Don't forget Syria! Only death can take me away from here. Whoever has a role in this cruelty, they will pay for it one by one. They will," the man went on to say.

Comment: Bizarre that he self-identifies as a jihadist given that - as a clean-shaven, urban policeman - he led the life of an infidel.

Presumably, these comments from the assailant mean that he was upset with Russia co-liberating Aleppo.

Since last year, Russia has been providing Syrian government forces with air support in their fight against terror groups and rebels.

Turkish NTV broadcaster says that three other people were also injured in the attack on the ambassador.

The attacker has been killed by Turkish Special Forces, Turkish Anadolu news agency reported.

The gunman was a police officer, Ankara's mayor confirmed.

Previously Interfax, citing a source in the Turkish military, reported that the perpetrator had presented a police ID as he entered the exhibition.

Meanwhile, a picture allegedly showing the perpetrator's personal file, apparently proving he was indeed a police officer, was posted on social media.

Reacting to the assault on the Russian ambassador, the US State Department expressed its condemnation.

"We condemn this act of violence, whatever its source. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," State Department spokesperson John Kirby, wrote on his official Twitter account.

The attack on the ambassador might be an attempt to jeopardize relations between Moscow and Ankara, Russian MP and member of the International Relations Committee, Elena Panina said.

"I believe that this is a provocation to disrupt improved dialogue between Russia and Turkey. Moreover, we know that [Turkish President] Erdogan is due to visit the Russian Federation. Therefore, it is a pure provocation," Panina told RIA Novosti news agency.

Comment: Absolutely, this is pure provocation. Just over a year ago, NATO's fifth column inside Turkey shot down a Russian bomber...

‌Strange world we live in, where the Russian ambassador in Turkey was killed because his country was fighting terrorists in Syria, while the US ambassador in Libya was killed in 2012 because he was supplying the same terrorists with weapons.

Update (19:57 CET): Video of the lunatic immediately after killing the ambassador has surfaced:

Also, reports say that shooting has been heard at or near the US embassy in Ankara. The U.S. State Department is warning Americans to avoid the embassy due to the "ongoing security incident". The embassy, 2.5 miles from the gallery where Ambassador Karlov was assassinated, is on lockdown.

Update (20:24 CET): The attacker has been identified as Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, a member of the Ankara Riot police born in 1994 and a graduate of the Izmir Police School. He was not on duty at the time of the attack. (More pictures of the attacker here.) His mother and sister have been detained by police.

Update 8:59 CET: Video of the attack itself (warning: distressing) has surfaced...

Update: Putin has called the murder a provocation aimed at derailing Syria negotiations:

Turkish FM Cavusoglu called it an attack on both Russia and Turkey, and Pres. Erdogan vowed to thoroughly investigate the attack. MHP Deputy Chairman Mehmet Gunal said it was designed to destroy relations between Russia and Turkey. And Erdogan's adviser, Ilnur Cevik, points out that the assassination comes at a time of "excellent cooperation between Turkey and Russia in Aleppo", which has obviously angered certain people. He also tied the assassin to Gulen and the West:

It was inevitable that the West would try to sabotage these relations. It is sad that they used a policeman affiliated to Fethullah Gulen's terrorist organization to assassinate the ambassador. This organization was also behind the downing of the Russian fighter that hurt our relations.

Update (Dec. 20): Both Iran and the U.S. have closed their consulates in Turkey in response to the murder. Egyptian MP Zeinab Salem told RIA Novosti he criticized Turkey's security measures, but says the attack should unite the world around Russia's anti-terror efforts. Where the shootdown of the Russian jet may have soured relations, that seems unlikely this time around (e.g., Russia's ambassador to France says Russia plans to continue working even more intensively with Turkey). The Turkish Defense Minister assured Shoigu that any and all information discovered would be turned over to Russia.

Russia's 18-person investigative team (including one prosecutor and two defense attaches) has arrived in Turkey to jointly probe the attack with their Turkish counterparts. The street where the Russian embassy is located in Ankara will be renamed Karlov Street.

More information has come out about the killer, Altintas. He used to guard the Russian embassy, as early as a month ago, during the rallies protesting Russia's involvement in Syria. He refused to pass through the x-ray scanner at the gallery yesterday, but was let through when he showed his police ID.

He took a leave of absence on December 19 and stayed at a hotel close to the gallery. He fired 11 shots, 9 at Karlov. He also took a leave of absence after the failed coup attempt in July:

Altıntaş reportedly took a report of absence for two days after the thwarted coup, even though all police officers were called to duty after July 15.

He was on duty in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on July 15, but arrived in Ankara on July 16 after obtaining a leave of absence. He stayed in a house in the Demetevler district of the Turkish capital, daily Habertürk reported.

The police chief who allowed him to take the leave of absence, Kahraman Sezer, was arrested after the failed coup attempt over links to the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen.

Altıntaş himself was suspended over suspected links to FETÖ on Oct. 4 but was returned to duty on Nov. 16.

Update (Dec. 21): Pictures of the reception of Ambassador Karlov's body by Russian honor guard:

The body of Karlov was taken to Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow by a charter flight.

Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov's widow Marina (left), accompanied by his mother (centre), wept at the coffin of her husband after it was flown back to Moscow.

Marina was accompanied by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as the body was carried off the plane.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov paid his respects at the ceremony in Moscow earlier this evening.

Up to 13 people have been detained so far in Ankara, Izmir (six suspects) and Aydin (four suspects) provinces, suggesting that Turkish authorities may believe the murder was a conspiracy, not a lone wolf attack. Among those detained so far: Atlintas's parents, sisters, two other relatives, and his Ankara roommate. FM Cavusoglu reportedly told Kerry that both Russian and Turkish officials "are aware" that Gulen was involved (Gulen naturally denies it). Other officials have hinted at U.S. involvement, prompting Kirby to say:

It's a ludicrous claim, absolutely false, there's no basis of truth in it whatsoever. Any notion that the United States was in any way supportive of this or behind this or even indirectly involved is absolutely ridiculous.

Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Nusra/al-Qaeda in Syria) has claimed responsibility for the murder in a letter posted on Egyptian news site Al-Youm Al-Sabea.

In yet another stunning display of Western support for terrorism, here's CNN Moscow correspondent Clarissa Ward justifying Karlov's murder:

Update (Dec. 22): The man who assassinated Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov is "obviously" a member of the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organisation (FETO) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, citing the killer's background and connections as "proof".

"The assassin of the Russian ambassador is obviously a member of FETO. There is no need to hide it," Erdogan said during a press conference with his Albanian counterpart.

"Where he grew up, and all connections reveal this [FETO membership]," the Turkish leader added.

Erdogan said that the assassin's international links were being investigated by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT).

Update: An investigation into the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov has found that his murderer had contacts with police officers, who had been fired after an attempted military coup in Turkey in July:

The investigation has found that the Russian envoy's assassin contacted several people, who used a program of exchanging encrypted messages ByLock, which had been used by members of the group supporting opposition Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, FETO, Anadolu news agency reported.

According to the agency's police source, the General Prosecutor's Office in Ankara examined data from the mobile phone of the Russian ambassador's murderer jointly with Russian experts from the Moscow Police Department.

Five police officers, as well as a police commissioner and his deputy, who were using the program and were fired after an attempted coup on July 15, were among Mevlut Mert Altintas' contacts. His links to them are currently being investigated.

Karlov has been laid to rest in Moscow with special honors, posthumously named a hero of Russia. Putin attended and Lavrov presented the "Hero of the Russian Federation" star to Karlov's family. Turkish PM Yildirim joined the ceremony.

© Sergei Pyatakov / Sputnik

Head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill and Marina Karlova, widow of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov, at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

© AFP

The mother of Andrei Karlov, the slain Russian ambassador to Turkey, cries next to his open coffin during a funeral ceremony at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow on December 22.

© Getty Images

Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov pays his respects to the murdered diplomat

Update (Jan. 3): More info on the assassin's activities before the killing:

The murderer of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov had been collecting information on the diplomat for over two months before the assassination, local media reported Tuesday, citing law enforcement officials.

According to the Anadolu news agency, the investigation of the murder has revealed that the perpetrator, Mevlut Mert Altintas, was looking for data on the Russian diplomat via his former roommate's computer back in October 2016.