An off-duty police officer has shot and killed the Russian ambassador to Turkey as he was giving a speech at an art gallery this evening.
The gunman is said to have been dressed smartly and standing behind the ambassador before he pulled a gun and shouted “Don’t forget Aleppo. Don’t forget Syria” before shooting Andrei Karlov.
"We regard this as a terrorist act," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
"Terrorism will not win and we will fight against it decisively."
Strongly condemn savage attack on #Russia Amb to #Turkey Andrey Karlov & several other ppl. Our thoughts are w/the victims & their families.
— Samantha Power (@AmbassadorPower) December 19, 2016
Russia has been a close ally to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and played a large part in helping the Syrian forces in their effort to end rebel resistance last week.
However, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has been vocal about his opposition to President Assad.
It is said the gunman fired eight shots according to witnesses.
The Turkish state-run press agency, Anadolu later reported he had been “neutralised”.
Video footage of the incident has since emerged where the shooter can be seen making the fatal shot.
With the death toll continuing to escalate in the Syrian capital and the so-called Islamic State militant group having carried out several attack on Turkish targets in the last year, this latest attack is being called the latest in a reign of terror in the region.
Strongly condemn murder of RU amb to TK Andrei Karlov. Condolences to his family. Dynamics&responsibilities of this must be fully clarified
— EP President (@EP_President) December 19, 2016
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charles Flanagan TD spoke about the killing in a statement made this evening, saying:
“I condemn the brutal assassination of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey.
"I offer sincere condolences to Ambassador Karlov's family and loved ones and to the government and people of Russia.
“Diplomats play critical role in the conduct of relations between States and today is a bleak day for the diplomatic community around the world."
