Turkish authorities have arrested two men after the attack on a Catholic church service in Istanbul. They are said to be members of the terrorist militia “Islamic State”. One man was killed in the attack.
After an attack on a Catholic church in Istanbul that left one dead, Turkish police have caught two fugitive suspects. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced this on Sunday evening.
Raids were carried out at 30 addresses and a total of 47 people were arrested in the course of the investigation, said Yerlikaya. “We will never tolerate those who seek to disturb the peace in our country – terrorists, their collaborators, national and international criminal groups and those who attack our unity and solidarity.”
IS confession on Telegram
Those arrested were members of the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS), Yerlikaya said at a press conference shortly after midnight (local time). One of the suspects comes from Tajikistan and the other from Russia.
IS claimed the attack through its mouthpiece Nashir. With their act, the perpetrators followed the IS leadership’s call to kill Christians and Jews everywhere, the jihadist militia explained in its message of confession on the Telegram messenger service.
More than 35 people were on site at the time of the crime
Two masked men entered the Santa Maria Catholic Church in the Sariyer district during church services on Sunday morning and killed a man. According to media reports, the victim was 52 years old. The perpetrators initially managed to escape.
“After the second shot, the weapon stopped working,” district mayor Sükrü Genc told reporters. The attackers then fled. “At this point, everyone was on the floor,” he continued. “Between 35 and 40 people” were in the church. According to Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, there were no injuries. Shortly after the crime, the authorities expressed the assessment that the attack was apparently not directed against the Catholic Church, but rather specifically against the victim.
Condolences from Italy and Turkey
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu expressed his condolences to reporters and offered support to all believers in the city. “There are no minorities in this city or in this country. We are all real citizens,” he said. In a telephone conversation with church and local authorities representatives, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also expressed his condolences.
In his speech in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis commented on the crime. The head of the Catholic Church said he wanted to express his solidarity with the church community in Istanbul.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said his ministry was monitoring the situation together with the Italian embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul. “I express my condolences and condemn in the strongest terms the vile attack on the church of Santa Maria,” Tajani wrote on X. The church is run by an Italian order of Franciscans.
More than 180,000 Christians in Turkey
The Santa Maria church, built in the 19th century, is located in the Sariyer district in the European part of the city. More than 99 percent of the people in Turkey are Muslim. According to the state news agency Anadolu, more than 180,000 Christians live in the country.
In December, Turkish security forces arrested 32 suspected supporters of the Islamic State jihadist militia on suspicion of planning attacks on synagogues, churches and the Iraqi embassy in Turkey.
Uwe Lueb, ARD Istanbul, tagesschau, January 28, 2024 1:24 p.m