A gunman opened fire outside the United States embassy in the Turkish capital of Ankara, hours after the Russian envoy to Turkey was assassinated by a police officer, according to local media.
The shooter, who was armed with a shotgun, was caught at a security checkpoint after he fired almost a dozen bullets towards the building, according to Sabah newspaper. The assailant was also captured in a video footage, and was seen shouting at the police officers while he was being escorted to the back of a police cruiser after the shooting.
No injuries were reported in the latest assault at the building. Soon after Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov was shot dead on Monday evening by a Turkish police officer, authorities have increased patrolling around the diplomatic buildings in the country.
The gunman was heard shouting, "Don't forget Aleppo, don't forget Syria" during the deadly attack at the Russian envoy near the Center for Contemporary Arts. The assailant was later shot down by police in a shootout. Other reports state that the gunman shouted, "We die in Aleppo, you die here and don't forget about Aleppo, don't forget about Syria, Allahu Akbar...," according to Sputnik news.
The US embassy in Turkey has warned travellers from America not to stray around the embassy building because of police activity in the region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan shortly after the attack on the Russian envoy. Putin was briefed about the shooting during their conversation. The Russian president said that the attack in Ankara was a "provocation," which was aimed at spoiling the Russia-Turkey bilateral ties and postponing Moscow's attempt to find solutions for the Syrian crisis, according to Reuters.
Ever since the attack, the Russian officials have demanded that the shooting of the Russian ambassador be labelled "an act of terror."
