Istanbul: Gunmen attack Italian church, killing one person

Two masked assailants launched an armed attack on an Italian church in Istanbul during a service on Sunday, leaving one person dead, Turkish authorities said.

According to a statement by Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the assailants attacked the Santa Maria Church in the Sariyer district at 11:40 a.m. local time (08:40 GMT). 

He did not specify what kind of weapons were used or whether anyone else was wounded. Local officials said around 40 people attended the mass.

Turkish officials said the incident looked like a targeted attack against one person rather than against the Catholic church. 

Just after midnight, Interior Minister Yerlikaya said two men described as members of the so-called Islamic State (IS) movement had been arrested. 

Yerlikaya said one man from Tajikistan and another from Russia had been arrested after police raided 30 locations and detained a total of 47 people.

"We will never tolerate those who try to disrupt the peace of our country — terrorists, their collaborators, both national and international criminal groups, and those who aim at our unity and solidarity," said Yerlikaya.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed condolences over the attack and said "necessary steps" were taken to hunt down killers, according to his office. 

Erdogan, who spoke on the phone with local officials as well as a priest at the Italian church, said "necessary steps are being taken to catch the perpetrators as soon as possible."

Television images showed police and an ambulance outside the ornate church. It was not immediately clear what the motive for the attack was.

DW correspondent in Turkey Julia Hahn reported that the authorities have imposed a news blackout on reporting about the attack

Pope voices support for community

The pope expressed his support for the church in Istanbul. "I express my closeness to the community of the Santa Maria Draperis Church in Istanbul," Pope Francis said at the end of his weekly Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.

Meanwhile, the Italian foreign minister condemned the armed attack on the church. Antonio Tajani expressed his "condolences and firm condemnation" of the attack and backed the Turkish authorities to find the killers.

Last December, Turkish security forces detained 32 suspects for alleged links to Islamic State militants who were planning attacks on churches and synagogues, as well as the Iraqi embassy. 

IS extremists have carried out several attacks on Turkish soil, including a 2017 assault on an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people.

dh/sms (AP, AFP, dpa)