Security measures at Turkish diplomatic missions in Moscow on high alert - police

MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. Security measures at the Turkish Embassy in Moscow have been put up on a high round-the-clock alert following the assassination of Russian Ambassador in Ankara Andrei Karlov on Monday, Irina Volk, a spokeswoman for the Russian Interior Ministry, told TASS on Tuesday. "Police ecurity at the building of the Turkish Embassy, as well as the building of the Turkish Consulate General’s office, was put on a high alert round-the-clock," Volk said in an interview with TASS. A source in the Russian law enforcement bodies told TASS on Monday night that security measures at the building of the Russian-Turkish Cultural Center were also increased. According to earlier media reports, an unidentified assailant opened rapid gunfire in the Turkish capital of Ankara on late Monday afternoon during the opening ceremony of the photo exhibition dedicated to bilateral relations between Russia and Turkey and called ‘Russia through Turks’ eyes.’ Russian Ambassador to Turkey Karlov, who had been invited to the opening ceremony of the exhibition, was shot during the attack and later died in a hospital of the sustained wounds. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told journalists that the gunman was identified as Mevlut Mert Altintas, a former special task police officer born in 1994. Three more people also sustained gun wounds during the attack, according to various media reports. Local news outlets reported that the suspected assailant was killed by law enforcers. The Russian diplomatic mission in Ankara stated that there were no other citizens of Russia, who had been harmed as a result of the fatal armed attack in the Turkish capital. Read more