Russian ambassador to Turkey shot in Turkish capital, Ankara, seriously wounded
- 7 years ago
The Russian ambassador to Ankara was seriously wounded in a gun attack at a art gallery in the Turkish capital on Monday and was taken to a hospital, NTV and other broadcasters reported.
The Russian foreign ministry confirmed the attack mounted as Ambassador Andrei Karlov made a speech at the opening of a photographic exhibition. Hurriyet newspaper said Turkish special forces had surrounded the building. NTV said three other people were wounded.
A Reuters witness said that while gunfire rang out for some time after the attack, it had now stopped.
Russia and Turkey have been involved in conflict in Syria across the border from where over 2 million Syrian refugees have settled. Turkey has been a staunch opponent of President Bashar al-Assad while Russia has deployed troops and its air force in support of the Syrian leader.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack. Islamic State militants have been active in Turkey and carried out several bomb attacks on Turkish targets
A photograph posted on twitter showed a man in a black suit holding a pistol, standing close to a podium in the gallery, its walls hung with pictures. Four people including what appeared to be the ambassador lay on the floor.
The Turkish lira and Russian rouble fell to session lows against the dollar on Monday following the report.
The lira was last down about 0.6 percent at 3.526 lira per dollar, while the rouble hit a session low of 62.045 rouble per dollar before retracing to 61.9305, according to Reuters data.
iShares MSCI Turkey ETF and VanEck Vectors Russia ETF were trading lower in early morning trade Monday.
The Russian foreign ministry confirmed the attack mounted as Ambassador Andrei Karlov made a speech at the opening of a photographic exhibition. Hurriyet newspaper said Turkish special forces had surrounded the building. NTV said three other people were wounded.
A Reuters witness said that while gunfire rang out for some time after the attack, it had now stopped.
Russia and Turkey have been involved in conflict in Syria across the border from where over 2 million Syrian refugees have settled. Turkey has been a staunch opponent of President Bashar al-Assad while Russia has deployed troops and its air force in support of the Syrian leader.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack. Islamic State militants have been active in Turkey and carried out several bomb attacks on Turkish targets
A photograph posted on twitter showed a man in a black suit holding a pistol, standing close to a podium in the gallery, its walls hung with pictures. Four people including what appeared to be the ambassador lay on the floor.
The Turkish lira and Russian rouble fell to session lows against the dollar on Monday following the report.
The lira was last down about 0.6 percent at 3.526 lira per dollar, while the rouble hit a session low of 62.045 rouble per dollar before retracing to 61.9305, according to Reuters data.
iShares MSCI Turkey ETF and VanEck Vectors Russia ETF were trading lower in early morning trade Monday.