Turkey detains dozens of suspects after ISIL claims responsibility for İstanbul church attack

Turkey detained dozens of suspects from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in connection to a deadly attack on a Roman Catholic church in İstanbul on Sunday, including the two alleged perpetrators, after ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack, the private DHA news agency reported.

Sunday’s attack claimed the life of a Turkish citizen, identified as 52-year-old Tuncer Cihan, who was not a member of the congregation, according to his cousin, Murat Cihan, who spoke to the Gazete Duvar news website.

The extremist group said it “attacked a gathering of Christian unbelievers during their polytheistic ceremony” inside the Santa Maria Italian Church in the Büyükdere neighborhood of İstanbul on Sunday. The ISIL statement claiming responsibility was published on Aamaq, the media arm of the militant group, along with photos of two masked men holding guns whom it identified as the attackers, in addition to its Telegram channels.

51 suspects detained

Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced late on Sunday that two men who are thought to be members of ISIL have been detained in connection with the attack. One of the suspects, identified only by the initials A.K., is from Tajikistan, while the other, identified as D.T., is from Russia.

The masked attackers fled the scene after the shooting. Following the incident, 51 ISIL suspects were detained in operations across the country in connection with Sunday’s attack. Twenty-three of the suspects have been transferred to a repatriation center to be deported, while the police interrogation of the remaining 28 is under way.

Meanwhile, details about the attack and the attackers continued to emerge on Sunday. DHA reported that the vehicle used by the attackers was brought from Poland one year ago and was not used until the day of the attack.

It also reported that the attackers immediately fled the scene when the gun used by A.K. jammed as he attempted to fire it again after the first shot.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had phone calls later on Sunday with local officials and Santa Maria Church pastor Anton Bulai and offered his condolences. He said Turkish authorities are taking all measures to capture the perpetrators as soon as possible. A video of the phone conversation was posted on X by Fahrettin Altun, Erdoğan’s communications director.

Cumhurbaşkanımız Sayın Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, İstanbul Sarıyer’de bulunan Santa Maria İtalyan Kilisesi’nde meydana gelen saldırıyla ilgili Sarıyer Kaymakamı Sayın Ömer Kalaylı, Santa Maria İtalyan Kilisesi Rahibi Sayın Anton Bulai ve Polonya’nın İstanbul Başkonsolosu Sayın Witold… pic.twitter.com/htQMqiXgPX

— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) January 28, 2024

In an interview with Vatican Media, apostolic vicar of İstanbul and apostolic administrator of Constantinople Bishop Massimiliano Palinuro discussed the tragic series of events, asking authorities to seek the truth behind the attack, which he said seems to suggest religious intolerance.

The concrete motivations, the apostolic vicar told Vatican Media, “are not yet known” and “have yet to be verified.”

“But the elements that seem to emerge so far suggest a religiously motivated attack, a motivation of religious intolerance.”

Palinuro asked the Turkish authorities for more security for the Catholic church.

“We ask for greater security and for the safety of the faithful, of the Christian community, which perseveres in the faith and courageously faces very long journeys at times to attend the Eucharistic celebration,” he said

Gag order imposed

An İstanbul court has imposed a gag order on news coverage of the attack, an almost routine practice in Turkey following such incidents and disasters.

The gag order covers all news on radio and TV stations as well as social media platforms.

Condolences from the pope, Italian minister

Pope Francis, addressing the faithful during his Sunday Mass, decried the attack by gunmen at the Catholic church in İstanbul.

“I express my closeness to the community of the Santa Maria Church in Istanbul,” the pope said at the end of his weekly Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also expressed his “condolences and firm condemnation” over the attack and backed the Turkish authorities seeking to find the killers.

The attack took place more than a week after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Erdoğan in İstanbul.

Funeral held for victim

A funeral ceremony was held for Tuncer Cihan, the victim of Sunday’s attack, at an Alevi house of worship (cemevi) in İstanbul on Monday following which Cihan was laid to rest in an İstanbul cemetery.

Cihan’s cousin Murat Cihan told Gazete Duvar that his cousin was mentally ill, he was probably curious about the church when he saw it during a walk in Sarıyer that day and wanted to have a look inside.

“It was the first time he went to the church. He was not a member of the church,” said the cousin, denying claims that the victim was a regular churchgoer.

ISIL has carried out a string of attacks on Turkish soil, including at a nightclub in İstanbul in 2017 that left 39 people dead.

In its statement on Sunday, ISIL said the attack had been carried out in response to the group leader’s call to kill Jews and Christians everywhere.