Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya talks to the media after visiting the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul, Turkey on January 28. Photo: X
Istanbul: Two suspects of the armed attack on an Italian church in Turkey’s largest city Istanbul on Sunday were confined, said Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
“I congratulate our Istanbul Police department and the heroic police officers who identified and captured the perpetrators,” Yerlikaya said on the social media platform X as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.
The assailants attacked the Santa Maria Church in the Sariyer district on the European side of the city at around 11:40 a.m. local time, killing one person during a Sunday Mass.
Earlier on Sunday, Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said the deceased person was a 52-year-old Turkish citizen.
After the incident, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences during a phone call with the priest of the Italian church.
This post was last modified on January 29, 2024 10:54 am