Turkish police have detained seven people over the killing of the Russian ambassador who was shot in the back as he gave a speech in Ankara on Monday by an off-duty police officer shouting “Don’t forget Aleppo” and “Allahu Akbar.”
The state-run Anadolu news agency said on Tuesday the attacker’s mother, father, sister and two other relatives were being held in the western province of Aydın, while his flatmate in Ankara was also detained.
Police paced up and down behind a cordon on Tuesday morning outside the art gallery where the ambassador, Andrei Karlov, was shot. A crime scene investigation van was parked outside the building.
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday the two countries’ foreign ministers had underlined the need to put more effort into effectively fighting terrorism, in a phone call overnight.
Russia is an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and its air strikes helped Syrian forces end rebel resistance last week in the northern city of Aleppo. Turkey, which seeks Assad’s ouster, has been repairing ties with Moscow after shooting down a Russian warplane over Syria last year.