The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Roman Catholic church in Istanbul during a Sunday Mass that killed one person, The Week reports.
An extremist group said it attacked a gathering of non-believing Christians during their polytheistic ceremony” at Santa Maria Church in Istanbul’s Büyükdere neighbourhood on Sunday.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said shortly before midnight that two men he described as members of the extremist Islamic State movement had been arrested for the attack. She added:
We will never tolerate those who try to disrupt the peace of our country — terrorists, their collaborators, both national and international criminal groups, and those who aim at our unity and solidarity.
The statement of responsibility was published on the website of Aamaq, the militant group’s media arm, along with photographs of the two masked and gun-wielding men they identified as the attackers. The statement said one person was killed and another injured in the attack, while Turkish authorities said no one was injured apart from the dead man.
The private DHA news agency said 51 people were detained in police raids, including 23 who were sent to detention centres to await deportation.
According to the agency, the two suspects were driving a car brought from Poland to Istanbul a year ago, which had never been used before the day of the shooting. The attackers panicked and fled after the weapon jammed, the report said.
Istanbul police did not immediately respond to a request for information.
Islamic State has not previously targeted places of worship in Turkey, but the militant group has carried out a number of deadly attacks in the country, including a 2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting that killed 39 people and a 2015 bombing in Ankara that killed 109 people.
