2024-01-29T05:15:07+00:00
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/ Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Monday the arrest of two gunmen who shot dead a person yesterday during a mass inside a church in Istanbul, suggesting that the gunmen are linked to ISIS.
The minister had earlier said the attack, which Ankara condemned, took place at 08:40 GMT at the Santa Maria Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul’s Sarıyer district, and targeted a Turkish citizen, killing him during mass.
Later, the minister told reporters that authorities had raided more than 30 locations across Istanbul and arrested 47 people so far.
He added that the two suspects were arrested in one of the recent raids, according to Reuters.
“Both suspects are foreign nationals. One is from Tajikistan and the other is Russian and according to our assessment they are from ISIS,” Yerlikaya said, adding that they would be questioned about the attack.
Earlier, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on Telegram, saying it came in response to a call by the group’s leaders to target Jews and Christians.
Video footage from inside the church, verified by Reuters, showed the masked gunmen entering the building and shooting the man walking in front of them.
The footage shows the two men leaving the scene immediately afterwards.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office said he had called the church’s pastor and a local ruling party official to offer his condolences.
Pope Francis offered his condolences after the weekly Angelus prayer.
“I express my solidarity with the Santa Maria Church in Istanbul after it was subjected to an armed attack during Mass, which resulted in the death of one person,” he said.