Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his country will intensify its fight against 'terrorism.' Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has sent his condolences to his Russian counterpart. Wang said China strongly condemns attacks against diplomats, and opposes any form of terrorism. He said China will join the international community in supporting Russia's efforts against terrorism, and will pursue closer counter-terrorism cooperation with Russia.
Russia's ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov died of his wounds after the shooting at an Ankara exhibition center. It comes on the eve of a key meeting on the Syrian conflict by the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran in Moscow.
The attack took place in Ankara - at the Contemporary Art Gallery as the Russian Ambassador Adrei Karlov was delivering a speech - he was shot from behind by a lone gunman. We have chosen not to show the exact moment the shots were fired.
The first details about the gunman were given by the Turkish Interior Minister.
"The attacker was born 1994 in Aydın (western city of Turkey). He registered at Manisa (western city of Turkey), graduated from Soke Anatolian High School and Rustu Unsal Police academy and Mevlut Mert Altintas had been working at Ankara riot police for two and a half years," Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu said.
The gunman had managed to enter the gallery with his police identification - though he was off-duty at the time of the attack. Following the gunshots, the gunman shouted out "God is great" and "Don't forget Aleppo, don't forget Syria." Shortly after, Turkish special forces killed the attacker.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talked on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and they pledged to cooperate.
"The Russian authorities said it's better to join the ongoing investigation with their officials, and we said there isn't any problem from our side to help out this investigation," Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Putin called the attack "provocative".
The attack comes a day before the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet in Moscow to discuss the latest evacuation efforts in Aleppo, Syria.
Russian President Putin said this attack was aimed at undermining the relationship between Moscow and Ankara. He added the "only response" to the murder is to step up the fight against terror. Michal Bardavid, at the Turkish Syrian border.
