Television images showed police and an ambulance outside the ornate church.
Istanbul, Türkiye:
Turkey’s interior minister said two men carried out an armed attack on an Italian church during a religious ceremony in Istanbul on Sunday, killing one person.
Ali Yerlikaya said on social media that the attack took place at Santa Maria Church in Istanbul’s Sariye district at about 11:40 (0840 GMT) and was carried out by two masked men.
He said that investigation has been started.
Television images showed police and an ambulance outside the grand church.
The minister said a man identified only as CT – who was among those attending the Sunday service – had died after the armed attack.
“We strongly condemn this heinous attack,” Yerlikaya said.
The motive of the attack was not immediately clear.
In December, Turkish security forces detained 32 suspects over alleged ties to Islamic State jihadists who were planning attacks on churches and synagogues as well as the Iraqi embassy.
IS extremists have carried out a series of attacks on Turkish soil, including a 2017 attack on a nightclub in Istanbul that killed 39 people.
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