Two attackers dressed in black and masked opened fire on Sunday January 28, shortly before noon, during mass in the Santa Maria Catholic church in Istanbul, killing one person. Both were arrested in the evening, announced Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. They are two non-Turkish citizens, one of the suspects coming from Russia and the other from Tajikistan. Shortly before their arrest, a claim for the attack by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) was published on its regular channel, the Amaq agency, and the social network Telegram.
Initially and in view of video images from a surveillance camera located inside the parish, the Turkish authorities estimated that the attack seemed to target a particular person rather than the Santa Maria church, located in the Sariyer district, along the Bosphorus, on the European side of the megacity. On another camera, placed in front of the porch, two hooded men could be seen, wearing black masks, sunglasses and their hands in their pockets heading towards the entrance to the church.
“After the second shot, the weapon jammed and the attackers fledexplained to the press the mayor of the district, Sukru Genç. At this time, everyone was lying on the ground. There were between 35 and 40 people inside. » No one was injured in the attack, according to Istanbul Governor Davut Gül. The Polish Consul General in Istanbul, Witold Lesniak, and his children attended the religious service.
“Sensitive period”
The mayor specified that the person killed was a regular at the place, “a citizen originally from Bayburt [nord-est du pays] and of Muslim faith ». It would be Tuncer Cihan, 52 years old, the Minister of the Interior announced during the day. According to his nephew, quoted by the Turkish press, the victim was “retired and slightly mentally disabled”. At the end of the day, the authorities imposed a ban on the retransmission of images of the attack.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered his condolences. Pope Francis condemned the attack and expressed, from Rome, his ” proximity “ with the community of this church. The attack comes more than a week after a meeting in Istanbul between Mr. Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“Our security forces are conducting a full-scale investigation into this matterdeclared Omer Celik, spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), adding: Those who threaten the peace and security of our citizens will never achieve their goals. » The mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, told him: “We are going through a sensitive period, both nationally and internationally. (…) We will never welcome into our city those who target our unity and our peace by attacking places of worship. »
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