Gunman Kills Russian Ambassador to Turkey in Ankara

Gunman Kills Russian Ambassador to Turkey in Ankara

ISTANBUL—A gunman killed Russia’s envoy to Turkey during a gallery opening at the capital, according to Russia’s foreign ministry.

Turkish television stations broadcast a photograph showing Ambassador Andrey Karlov splayed on the floor by a podium, with a man in a suit holding a handgun behind him. Russia’s foreign ministry called the shooting a terrorist attack.

The assailant shot numerous times at the Russian envoy and didn’t target anyone else, said Hasim Kilic, an Ankara reporter for Hurriyet newspaper, during a broadcast on CNN Turk.


“Don’t forget Aleppo. Don’t forget Syria. For things happening in Syria those responsible will pay for that,” the assailant can be heard shouting in a video of the incident.

There were dozens of rounds of gunfire after the ambassador was shot, according to Mr. Kilic. The assailant was “rendered ineffective,” Anadolu reported.

Russian forces have supported a Syrian government assault there, helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime take the city. A cease-fire deal brokered by Russia and Turkey helped clear the way for the continuing evacuation of rebel-held areas of Aleppo.

Mr. Karlov had been in Ankara as Russia’s ambassador since July 2013. The gallery was at a modern-art center close to Turkish parliament.

More at the link

Well, I'm sure this won't escalate.

That's just what we needed.

Well, let's hope this is not the Archduke Ferdinand moment of this century.

Was this guy a cop or security? He seems to have gotten remarkably close to the Russkie with ease.

Off-duty cop, from what I've read elsewhere.

It looked like he was part of the security. Also, it sounded like he was a jihadist.

Russia's apparently calling it a terrorist attack, and not something to blame on Turkey. World War III avoided.









...or has it?

You can't trust a word Russia says.

No. But IIRC current Russian strategy is to cozy up to Erdogan and drive a wedge between the Turks and Europe and NATO for that matter.

Hostility toward Turkey wouldn't serve them well.

An assassination didn't used to be referred to as terrorism, did it? That word is being devalued.

Well, given the alternative for assassinating an ambassador would be "an act of war" I think we can live with "terrorism".

Personally, I just prefer "murder".

Is it me or have news sources lost touch with respect for people. The pictures and video while amazing leave me wondering about journalism ethics.

I haven't bothered to watch the video, which I imagine to be pretty shocking/disturbing, but the still images are incredible. To me, they're no different than images of a Buddhist monk self-immolating himself, a South Vietnamese police chief about to execute a Viet Cong prisoner, or a girl screaming over the body of a dead Kent State student.

Powerful stuff.

BTW, here's a bit from the AP photographer who was there.

https://blog.ap.org/behind-the-news/ap-photographer-i-composed-myself-enough-to-shoot-pictures

What's different about the video is it's professionally done and HD. It almost looks fake. Usually that kind of stuff is from a shaky smart phone video.

And just to prove how horrible the internet is, there's already all kinds of memes and the like based on it.

Where the heck was Russian security? Don't they travel with their ambassadors?

One things for sure. No one is going to trust Turkish police forces anymore.

Oh no! Memes!

You're the guy that tells women not to get worked up over death threats.

You know, I'd be perfectly alright if the Russians got totally sucked into that quagmire of a region while we slipped out the side door almost unnoticed.

That would be great, but not likely.

Yeah, but the Democrats keep trying that whole international intervention shit they were against when Bush was doing it.

Which makes me wonder if the Russians were warned about it ahead of time and allowed it to happen.

No, no. It's all right. Russia has helped elect its good friend Donald Trump as leader of the free world so all is well.

Nothing to see here. Move on, move on.

I'm still waiting for actual evidence that Trump is a friend of the Russians........

Nope.

Ambassadors don't generally have a dedicated security team. They usually have locally sourced security.

Oops.