IS claims responsibility
Arrests after attack on church in Istanbul
January 29, 2024, 3:09 a.m
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Two masked men break into a Catholic church in Istanbul and deliberately shoot a believer. While the Islamic State claims responsibility for the crime, the Turkish authorities report two arrests: The attackers come from Russia and Tajikistan.
After an attack on a Catholic church in Istanbul that left one dead, Turkish police have caught two fugitive suspects. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced this on Platform X late in the evening. The suspected attackers came from Tajikistan and Russia, he said at a news conference. Possible connections to the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) are being investigated.
IS claimed the attack through its mouthpiece Nashir. With their act, the perpetrators followed the IS leadership’s call to kill Christians and Jews everywhere, the jihadist militia explained in its message of confession on the Telegram messenger service. “We condemn this heinous attack in the strongest possible terms,” said Interior Minister Yerlikaya. According to him, everything indicated that the two men deliberately killed their victim.
Two masked men entered the Santa Maria Catholic Church in the Sariyer district during the morning service and killed a man. According to media reports, the victim was 52 years old. The perpetrators initially managed to escape. Interior Minister Yerlikaya said raids were carried out at 30 addresses and a total of 47 people were arrested in the course of the investigation. According to Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, there were no injuries. Security camera footage before the attack showed two men wearing black ski masks with their hands in their pockets. One of them was wearing black sunglasses.
Pope and Erdogan express condolences
Pope Francis expressed his condolences. In a telephone conversation with church and local authorities representatives, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also expressed his condolences. More than 99 percent of the people in Turkey are Muslim. According to the state news agency Anadolu, around 180,000 Christians live in the country.
In December, Turkish security forces arrested 32 suspected supporters of the Islamic State jihadist militia on suspicion of planning attacks on synagogues, churches and the Iraqi embassy in Turkey.