One person was killed during an attack carried out this morning while a mass was being held at a church in Istanbul’s Sarıyer district, Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed, adding that “a full-scale investigation into what happened and great efforts to catch the perpetrators have been launched”.
Yerlikaya gave more details about the attack via his official Twitter profile, where he said the incident took place at around 11:40 local time (9:40 CET) during Sunday’s church service at St Mary’s Church, located in the Büyükdere neighbourhood very close to the Bosphorus waterfront. The victim, identified by the initials C.T., was attending the service when two masked individuals shot at him and fled. “We strongly condemn this vile attack,” the minister said.
Images from the scene of the attack showed the church surrounded by police officers amid an extensive security deployment. Numerous authorities have condemned the attack, the cause of which is unknown. Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan held a telephone conversation with Anton Bulai, the priest of this church belonging to the Latin Catholic rite, and with the Polish General Consul in Istanbul, Witold Lesniak.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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