31/01/24
Turkey shooting: Man killed after masked gunmen opened fire in Instanbul church is named as police arrest two 'members of Islamic State'
The victim of a shooting at a church in Turkey committed by alleged members of the Islamic State terror group on Sunday has been named for the first time.
Tuncer Cihan, 52, was killed after being shot in the head by two men, since described as members of IS, who burst into the Santa Maria church in the Sariyer district of Istanbul at around 11.40am (8.40am UK time) today and fired several shots at attendees of the Sunday service.
Security footage ahead of the attack showed the men wearing black snow masks with their hands in their pockets and one was seen wearing black sunglasses.
Turkish officials said it looked like a targeted attack by the two gunmen, both of whom fled the scene, against Cihan rather than against the Catholic church.
Counter-terrorism police have since arrested both men. One is from Tajikistan and the other from Russia, police said.
But Cihan's nephew, Cagin, who identified his body, told the Associated Press that the target was the church, as his uncle, who he described as a 'mentally disabled individual' had 'no connection to politics or [criminal] organisations.'
He added that his uncle had been invited to attend the church 'and was a victim of fate.'
Ali Yerlikaya, Turkey's interior minister, condemned the 'vile attack' on social media.
He later said; 'We will never tolerate those who try to disrupt the peace of our country, terrorists, their collaborators, both national and international criminal groups, and those who aim at our unity and solidarity.'
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was recorded by his director of communications telling the church's priest, Anton Bulai: 'We will find the perpetrators sooner or later, maybe within 24 hours.'
Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu offered his condolences and support for religious minorities in the city, which, like Turkey, as a whole is primarily Muslim.
'There are no minorities in this city or this country. We are all actual citizens,' he said.
Local officials said around 40 people attended the mass, and suggested that there could have been more casualties at the church. run by missionary Franciscan friars from Italy as part of an ongoing mission of ecumenical dialogue.
He also offered his condolences and support for religious minorities in the city, which, like Turkey, as a whole is primarily Muslim.
'There are no minorities in this city or this country. We are all actual citizens,' he said.
'After the second shot, the gun didn't work, then they [attackers] ran. At this moment, everyone lied on the floor. There were around 35 to 40 people inside,' Sariyer district's mayor Sukru Genc told reporters.
Television images showed police and an ambulance outside the ornate Italian church.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was in the central Anatolian province of Eskisehir for his party's rally ahead of March local elections, expressed condolences during a phone call with the priest of the Italian church and other local officials.
He assured that 'necessary steps are being taken to catch the perpetrators as soon as possible', according to his office.
Pope Francis expressed his support for the Catholic church after the attack.
'I express my closeness to the community of the Santa Maria' church in Istanbul, the Argentinian pope said at the end of his weekly Angelus prayer in St Peter's Square at the Vatican.
Istanbul governor Davut Gul told reporters at the scene that there were no further injuries.
The motive for the attack was also not immediately clear.
Eyewitnesses said that panicked church goers threw themselves to the ground during the attack, after which the assailants fled the scene on foot, according to local newspaper Gazeta Duvar.
Several police officers were dispatched to the church following the attack and set up secure areas around the church.
Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu also took to social media to condemn the attack, writing: 'I condemn the armed attack on the Sunday mass held at the Santa Maria Church in Sariyer.
'I wish God's mercy to C.T. who lost his life and recovery to the injured.
'We will never allow those who try to destroy our unity and peace by attacking the religious places of our city.'
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also expressed his 'condolences and firm condemnation' over the attack, and backed the Turkish authorities to find the killers.
The incident comes more than a week after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Erdogan in Istanbul.
Turkey's ruling AKP party spokesman Omer Celik said the attackers took aim at a citizen during the mass.
'Our security forces are conducting a large-scale investigation into the matter,' he said.
'Those who threaten the peace and security of our citizens will never achieve their goals.'
In December, Turkish security forces detained 32 suspects over alleged links with Islamic State jihadists who were planning attacks on churches and synagogues, as well as the Iraqi embassy.
IS extremists have carried out a string of attacks on Turkish soil, including against a nightclub in Istanbul in 2017 that left 39 people dead.
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