Russian ambassador shot dead – as it happened: Andrey Karlov assassinated at Ankara photo exhibition
Andrey Karlov was shot in the back as he made a speech
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Your support makes all the difference.The Russian ambassador to Turkey has died after being shot in the capital city of Ankara. Andrey Karlov was shot in the back as he made a speech at a photo exhibition in the Turkish capital.
Latest updates
Read our liveblog of the aftermath of the attack as it happened
Mr Karlov was several minutes into a speech at the embassy-sponsored exhibition when a man wearing a suit and tie shouted "Allahu akbar" and fired at least eight shots, according to an AP photographer in the audience.
Mr Karlov died of his wounds, Russia's state-run RIA news agency reported, citing an unnamed source.
There was no official confirmation of the death from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Turkish police shot and killed the gunman, Turkey's NTV reported.
Russia has said it regards the killing of its ambassador to Ankara "as a terrorist attack".
"Today in Ankara as a result of an attack, the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Turkey, Andrey Gennadyevich Karlov, received a wound from which he died," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"We regard this as a terrorist act."
Mr Karlov had represented Russia in the country since 2013.
Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the killing of Andrey Karlov in the Turksih capital was intended to derail Moscow's attempts to find, with Iran and Turkey, a solution for the crisis in Syria.
Putin also said that Karlov was a brilliant diplomat who was widely respected in Turkey. "[Karlov] was in good standing with both the government of Turkey and other political groups in that country."
"We have to know who organised this killing and gave orders to the assassin," Putin added.
"This murder is clearly a provocation aimed at undermining the normalization of Russia-Turkish relations as well as at undermining the peace process in Syria promoted by Russia, Turkey, Iran and other countries interested in promoting settling the crisis in Syria," Putin said on television.
"The only response we should offer to this murder is stepping up our fight against terror, and the criminals will feel the heat."
The United Nations Security Council condemned Monday's shooting and called the incident a "terrorist attack."
"The members of the Security Council reiterated the need to bring the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist attacks to justice," the 15-member council said in a statement to Reuters.
The mother and sister of the gunman who killed the Russian ambassador have been detained in Soke, Turkey, CNN reports