Turkey detains suspects involved in Russian Ambassador murder

ANKARA, Turkey (Kurdistan24) – Turkish authorities on Tuesday arrested two suspects believed to be involved in the assassination of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

According to reports, the organizer of the photography exhibition and an Ankara police officer were detained in connection with the Russian Ambassador’s murder.

Andrey Karlov, Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey, was killed by a lone gunman on Dec. 19, 2016, later identified as 22-year-old Mevlut Mert Altintas.

Karlov was visiting Turkey and was set to participate in discussions involving the Syrian civil war and peace initiatives.

Police officers who had arrived at the scene shot Altintas while he was delivering a speech after Karlov’s death.

The exhibition organizer was only identified by the initials T.O., Hurriyet reported.

T.O. provided police with a statement and revealed Altintas had visited the center three days before the assassination.

Additionally, the exhibition organizer’s statement said the staff at the arts center “thought Altintas was an official bodyguard before the killing took place.”

Meanwhile, the second suspect, a police officer, had allegedly helped Altintas while at the police department where he used to work.

The Turkish government later said the assassin was a former policeman of Ankara’s riot force.

According to the Associated Press, Altintas was shouting “Don’t forget Aleppo! Don’t forget Syria!” during the attack.

The comments were a reference to Russia’s support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well as the collapse of the rebel-held city of Aleppo.

In response to the attack, the Russian Foreign Ministry said they expected Turkish authorities to conduct a “thorough” investigation.

Editing by Ava Homa