A Turkish policeman has shot dead Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, apparently in protest at Russia’s involvement in Aleppo.

The killer has been identified as Mevlut Mert Aydintas, 22, a member of the Ankara riot police, reports the BBC.

It was, however, not clear if he had links to any group.

The incident happened a day after protests in Turkey over Russian support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey’s president said the attack was aimed at hurting ties with Russia.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone and, in a video message, said that they both agreed it was an act of “provocation”.

He said that those who wanted to harm relations between the two countries “would not achieve it”.

In televised remarks, Putin said the act was “undoubtedly a provocation aimed at disrupting the normalization” of bilateral ties and the “peace process in Syria”.

A group of Russian investigators will arrive in Turkey to look into the case, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

BDST: 0819 HRS, DEC 20, 2016
SR