Two masked gunmen have opened hearth at a church in Turkey throughout Sunday Mass in a suspected terror assault, leaving one particular person lifeless.
The assault occurred at round 11.40am (8.40am UK time) on the Santa Maria church within the Sariyer district of Istanbul and was carried out by two masked males, Turkey’s inside minister Ali Yerlikaya stated on social media.
An investigation has been launched after a person recognized solely as C.T. – who was amongst these attending Sunday’s service – had died after the armed assault.
‘We strongly condemn this vile assault,’ Yerlikaya stated.
Television photos confirmed police and an ambulance exterior the ornate church.
The assault occurred at round 11.40am (8.40am UK time) on the Santa Maria church within the Sariyer district of Istanbul (pictured right here in 2022) and was carried out by two masked males, Ali Yerlikaya stated on social media
The motive for the assault was not instantly clear, however rumours on social media allege it was a terror assault.
Eyewitnesses stated that panicked church goers threw themselves to the bottom in the course of the assault, after which the assailants fled the scene on foot, based on native newspaper Gazeta Duvar.
Several law enforcement officials had been dispatched to the church following the assault and arrange safe areas across the church.
In December, Turkish safety forces detained 32 suspects over alleged hyperlinks with Islamic State jihadists who had been planning assaults on church buildings and synagogues, in addition to the Iraqi embassy.
IS extremists have carried out a string of assaults on Turkish soil, together with towards a nightclub in Istanbul in 2017 that left 39 individuals lifeless.
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