Off-duty cop shouted ‘don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria’ after assassinating Russian ambassador to Turkey
AN OFF-duty cop yesterday assassinated Russia’s ambassador to Turkey in protest at President Vladimir Putin’s brutal military campaign in neighbouring Syria.
Gunman Mevlüt Mert Altintas shot dead 62-year-old Andrei Karlov at an art gallery while yelling: “We die in Aleppo, you die here.”
Altintas, 22, fired at least eight times as Mr Karlov gave a speech in the Turkish capital Ankara.
Speaking in Turkish and Arabic, the riot cop then shouted: “God is great” and “Don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria.”
He died after a 15-minute shootout with police.
Last night Russia said it considered the diplomat’s death an act of terror.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack was aimed at hurting ties with Russia.
It came days after street demonstrations against the bombing of Aleppo, and only the day before a scheduled meeting of the Russian, Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers.
Mr Erdogan spoke by phone to Mr Putin, who went on TV to call the shooting an “undoubted provocation”.
Mr Karlov was shot in the back at a photographic exhibition called “Russia as seen by Turks”. Altintas, in a black suit and tie, got in by showing his police pass.
After the killing he aimed his gun at reporters and continued his rant.
When the room was evacuated he was said to have pumped more bullets into his victim’s body.
He fled to a room above where he died in a hail of at least 11 police rounds.
Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilici said: “The event was routine and when a man on stage pulled out a gun I thought it was a theatrical flourish.
“It was anything but. Moments later the Russian ambassador was sprawled on the floor and the attacker was waving his gun at the rest of us, shouting slogans.
“He shot the ambassador at least once more at close range and smashed some of the framed photos on the wall. In all there were at least eight shots. Guests ran for cover, hiding behind columns and under tables. I composed myself enough to shoot pictures.”
Last night there were reports cops had held Altintas’s parents, sister and roommate in his hometown of Soke in Aydin, on Turkey’s Aegean coast.
Altintas, who graduated from police school in 2014, had no known terror links, though it was claimed he may have had dealings with the Al-Nusra Front, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda.
No group claimed responsibility. Turkish authorities, known for their hardline stance on the Press, imposed a temporary news blackout.
But reports of the assassination interrupted PM Theresa May’s Commons statement on Europe.
The PM paused before replying to an MP’s question as aides told her what had happened.
Shocked Mrs May said: “I apologise to my honourable friend, I was just looking at what I believe is some breaking news that the Russian ambassador to Turkey has been shot.”
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson left immediately. He later tweeted: “Shocked to hear of despicable murder of Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey. My thoughts are with his family. I condemn this cowardly attack.”
US State Department spokesman John Kirby said: “We condemn this act of violence, whatever its source.”
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: “There can be no justification for an attack on an ambassador.”
Relations between Russia and Turkey have been strained since Putin decided to support Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s six-year war against rebels. Russia led with airstrikes on Aleppo which has now fallen to pro-government forces.
Mr Karlov’s assassination came on the day the UN Security Council unanimously called for all parties to observe the evacuation of the last rebel-held enclave in the city.
It was also just over a year since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on its border with Syria.
Turkey has itself been rocked by recent terror attacks.
On Saturday a car bomb near a bus in Kayserion killed 13 soldiers and wounding 55.
A week ago 44 people including 37 police officers were killed in bombings in Istanbul.