Terrorists Attack on Church in Istanbul Leaves one Dead and several Injured
On January 28 at 11.40 local time two masked gunmen walked into a Sunday mass at the Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul's Sariyer district and fired two shots killing a person and leaving several injured. The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack.
Two suspects, one from Tajikstan and the other from Russia, who were affiliated with the Islamic State, have been arrested suspected to be the attackers with a further 47 more people being detained as part of the investigation of the attack. A short video circulating on sical media seemingly depicts the attack. Turkish authorities have issued a media ban on coverage of the attack.
According to the mayor of Sariyer District, the slain man was a Muslim from Bayburt. The parish priest also shared that he "was constantly going to church".
Update: Edelkhan Inazhaev, who was detained regarding the armed attack at the Santa Maria Church in Sarıyer, Istanbul, and who was determined to be one of the suspects of the bomb attack carried out by the terrorist organization DAESH at Istanbul Atatürk Airport, was wanted by Interpol in 190 countries. Further, he was put under a red notice by Russia for being a member of a terrorist organisation. Specialists from the cybercrime department gaind access to the terrorists' correspondence and found the man who ordered the attacks. This man is named Amirjon Kholikov, he has now been placed under arrest.
Update: During the investigation, the number of detained suspects increased to 26 with the arrest of Nazhmuddin Bisultanov, also known as 'Abu Süleyman', a member of the terrorist organization ISIS.
Update: Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on the platform X that 48 suspects have been detained in connection with the terrorist attack on St. Mary's Church in Istanbul in January this year.
Update: Viskhan Soltamatiov, a member of the group Daesh/ISIS who also reportedly supplied weapons used in the attack, was apprehended through a joint operation against Daesh/ISIS in Istanbul by Turkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and the Security Directorate General,
Soltamatiov was identified as a key figure in the attack linked to ISIS-K, the group’s branch in Afghanistan’s Khorasan Province, the sources said.
Sources: AP News, PBS News Hour, Reuters, CNN, MK Turkey, Aydinlink Gazete, 1news.az, Middle East Monitor
Image: CNA Deutschland (Twitter)