One man died after armed assailants opened hearth at an Italian church in Istanbul throughout Sunday Mass, an obvious assassination try shortly condemned by Pope Francis and Turkish officers.
The assault came about at round 11:40 am (0840 GMT) on the Santa Maria Church in Istanbul's Sariyer district on the European facet of Turkey's largest metropolis and was carried out by two masked males, Inside Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated on social media.
Turkish officers stated it seemed to be a focused assault in opposition to one individual reasonably than the Catholic Church.
The minister stated an individual recognized solely as CT – who was amongst these current at Sunday's service – was focused within the gun assault and misplaced his life.
Yerlikaya added that an investigation had been launched to seek out the attackers, who fled the scene after the taking pictures.
Turkish counter-terrorism police have arrested one man in reference to the assault, the personal information company DHA reported, with out offering additional particulars.
Native officers stated about 40 individuals attended the mass and urged there might have been extra victims.
“After the second shot, the gun didn’t work, after which they (attackers) ran. At this second, everybody was on the bottom. There have been about 35 to 40 individuals inside,” Sariyer district mayor Sukru Genc advised reporters.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gul stated there have been no different accidents.
'Proximity to the group'
Tv footage confirmed police and an ambulance outdoors the ornate Nineteenth-century church.
“We strongly condemn this vicious assault,” Yerlikaya stated.
Safety footage earlier than the assault confirmed just a few males carrying black ski masks with their palms hidden of their pockets, and one among them was carrying black sun shades.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was within the central Anatolian province of Eskisehir for his social gathering's assembly forward of native elections in March, supplied his condolences throughout a cellphone name with the priest of the Italian church and different native officers.
He assured that “crucial steps are being taken to apprehend the perpetrators as quickly as doable,” his workplace stated.
Pope Francis expressed his help for the Catholic Church after the assault.
“I specific my solidarity with the group of the Church of Santa Maria in Istanbul,” the Argentine pope stated on the finish of his weekly Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Sq. within the Vatican.
'Sturdy condemnation'
Italian International Minister Antonio Tajani additionally expressed his “condolences and robust condemnation” over the assault and supported Turkish authorities to find the killers.
The incident comes greater than per week after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met Erdogan in Istanbul.
Ruling AKP social gathering spokesman Omer Celik stated the attackers focused a civilian in the course of the mass.
“Our safety forces are conducting a full-scale investigation into the matter,” he stated.
“Those that threaten the peace and safety of our residents won’t ever obtain their objectives.”
Well-liked Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu stated: “We are going to by no means enable those that search our unity and peace to assault non secular homes in our metropolis.”
The motive for the assault was additionally not instantly clear.
In December final yr, Turkish safety forces arrested 32 suspects for alleged hyperlinks to so-called Islamic State jihadists who deliberate assaults on church buildings and synagogues, in addition to the Iraqi embassy.
IS extremists have carried out a sequence of assaults on Turkish soil, together with in opposition to a nightclub in Istanbul in 2017, killing 39 individuals.
