Russian Ambassador to Turkey Karlov shot in Ankara
Share onRussia’s ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, has been shot at an art exhibition in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Russian embassy sources have confirmed to the Daily News.
Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, has been shot at an art exhibition in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Russian embassy sources have confirmed to the Daily News.
Karlov was shot by a gun while making a speech at a painting exhibition in the Turkish capital, the embassy said, adding that it believed that it was a radical Islamist attack.
Private broadcaster CNN Türk said Karlov was in a critical state.
The three wounded people were taken to Güven Hospital in central Ankara, reporters said but did not confirm whether the envoy was among them.
The attack comes one day before Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu heads to Moscow for talks on Syria with his Russian and Iranian counterparts.
Broadcaster CNN Turk said the attacker might be still inside the building and that Karlov had not yet been removed to hospital.
Hürriyet reporter Haşim Kılıç, who was at the scene during the attack, said attendants at the exhibit ran away after the attacker fired into the air. The attacker then targeted Karlov, Kılıç said.
Kılıç also added that the attacker chanted Islamist slogans, but he did not remember the exact words.
Special forces surrounded the building in preparation for an operation amid the sound of gunshots, witnessed confirmed.
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu also arrived at the scene.
Mr. Karlov, who started his career as a diplomat in 1976, worked extensively in North Korea over three decades, before moving to Ankara in 2007, according to a biography on the Russian Embassy’s website. He became ambassador in July 2013.
