Turkish assassin unlikely to have acted alone

The Turkish policeman who assassinated Russia’s ambassador was unlikely to have acted alone, a senior Turkish government official says, as investigators from both countries hunted for clues as to who might have been behind the killing.

Russian investigators arrived in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Tuesday morning and headed to the art gallery where Ambassador Andrey Karlov was shot dead Monday evening by Mevlut Mert Altintas.

The 22-year-old gunman, a member Ankara’s riot police squad, shouted slogans about the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo as he killed the envoy.

The senior government official describes the killing as “fully professional, not a one-man action” and said the attack was well-planned. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release details to the press.

Turkish authorities have not publicly released any information on the investigation or on a possible motive for the policeman.

— AP