The Russian ambassador to Turkey was shot in the back and killed as he gave a speech at an Ankara art gallery on Monday by an off-duty police officer who shouted "Don't forget Aleppo" and "Allahu Akbar" as he opened fire, informs Reuters.

Footage of the attack showed a man dressed in a suit and tie standing calmly behind the ambassador. He then pulled out a gun, shouted "Allahu Akbar" and fired at least eight shots, informs The Guardian.

After firing at the ambassador, the man shouted in Turkish: "Don’t forget Aleppo. Don’t forget Syria. Unless our towns are secure, you won’t enjoy security. Only death can take me from here. Everyone who is involved in this suffering will pay a price."

He also shouted in Arabic: "We are the one who pledged allegiance to Muhammad, to wage jihad."

The man that killed the Russian Ambassador was 22-year-old riot squad police officer in Ankara

The gunman, described by Turkish officials as a 22-year-old off-duty police officer, also wounded at least three others in the assault on the envoy, Andrey G. Karlov, which was captured on video. Turkish officials said the assailant was killed by other officers in a shootout.

The killer was named on Monday night as Mevlut Mert Altintas, a 22-year-old riot squad police officer who has been based in Ankara for the past two years.

He shouted “Allahu Akbar” – God is great – as he pulled the trigger, but was unclear whether he was inspired by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) or the rebels who have finally been crushed in Aleppo after four years of war.

He is understood to have added, in a mixture of Turkish Arabic, words to the effect of: "We made an oath to die in martyrdom...it is revenge for Syria and Aleppo...until they are safe, you will not taste safety."

Reports in Turkey suggested he recited a message in Arabic similar to a phrase associated with the rebel group Al Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda.

He was shot dead by police in a shoot-out that lasted 15 minutes. Three other people were wounded in the attack.

Source: The Telegraph