attack on Italian church in Istanbul leaves one dead

Two masked assailants attacked an Italian Catholic church during mass in Istanbul (Turkey) on Sunday January 28, announced Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. The attack left one dead and occurred around 11:40 a.m. (9:40 a.m. in Paris) at the Santa Maria church, the Minister of the Interior detailed on social networks. According to the minister, the victim is a person who attended the celebration, simply identified by his initials CT. An investigation has been opened. “We strongly condemn this despicable attack”he added.

“Our security forces are carrying out a full-scale investigation into this matter”said the spokesperson for the ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party). “Those who threaten the peace and security of our citizens will never achieve their objectives”he insisted.

“I express my closeness to the community of the Santa Maria Draperis Church in Istanbul, which during mass suffered an armed attack which left one dead and several injured”, reacted Pope Francis at the end of the Angelus prayer in Saint Peter’s Square, in the Vatican. For his part, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, expressed on his “condolences” and his “strong condemnation for the cowardly attack perpetrated against the church of Santa Maria”ensuring “monitor the situation with the embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul” and saying to himself “certain that the Turkish authorities will arrest those responsible”.