Alwaght- The assassin that killed Russian ambassador to Turkey last week, was a member of the security team guarding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, local newspaper reported.
In a report of the killing of the ambassador during his speech for the inauguration of a photo gallery in Ankara, the Hurriyet daily identified 22-year-old Mevlut Mert Altintas as a member of presidential security team.
The paper said he had served in the taskforce ensuring that no harm would come to the head of state in public events. The group would play second fiddle to Erdogan’s personal bodyguards.
He had provided security for the Turkish president eight times since July 15, when the country witnessed a failed coup, according to the report.
Over all, he had served two-and-a-half years in anti-riot police.
On Tuesday, the state-run Anadolu agency said the attacker’s mother, father, sister and two other relatives were arrested in the western province of Aydin, while his flatmate in Ankara had also been detained. Turkish media reported seven more arrests in the case later.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has told US counterpart John Kerry in a phone call that Turkey believed US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen was behind the assassination plot.
Ankara also blames Gulen, Erdogan’s friend-turned-archenemy, to be behind the coup. The clergyman denies the allegations.
Meanwhile, the Jordan-based al-Bawaba news and media website reported that the Fath al-Sham militant group operating in Syria has claimed the attack.
Iran, the US, NATO and other countries and world institutions have also condemned the assassination of the Russian ambassador.
