Russian ambassador to Ankara was shot dead in an attack at an art gallery in the Turkish capital yesterday by a gunman shouting "Don’t forget Aleppo"
Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov was shot dead by a gunman at an art gallery in Ankara. Pic/AFP
Ankara: Russian ambassador to Ankara was shot dead in an attack at an art gallery in the Turkish capital yesterday by a gunman shouting "Don’t forget Aleppo".
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A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed the death of envoy Andrei Karlov, which marked one of the most serious spillovers of the Syria conflict into Turkey.
Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov. Pic/AFP
Russia is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its air strikes were instrumental in helping Syrian forces end rebel resistance last week in Aleppo.
The Anadolu news agency said the gunman had been "neutralised" soon after the attack. Relations between Moscow and Ankara have long been fraught over the conflict, with the two supporting opposing sides.
The attacker was dressed in black suit and tie and standing behind the ambassador as he made a speech at the exhibition. "He took out his gun and shot the ambassador from behind. We saw him lying on the floor and then we ran out," said a witness.
A Reuters cameraman at the scene said gunfire rang out for sometime after the attack. A video showed the attacker shouting: "Don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria!"
The gunman was seen pacing and shouting as he held the gun in one hand and waved the other.
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