Don’t forget Aleppo: Russia holds memorial service for ambassador shot dead in Turkey

Dozens attend open-casket ceremony for Andrei Karlov, killed in Ankara by man shouting ‘Don’t forget Aleppo’

Russia has staged a sombre memorial ceremony for Andrei Karlov, the ambassador to Turkey shot dead in Ankara by a man shouting “Don’t forget Aleppo” and “Allahu Akbar”.

Russia and Turkey described the assassination on Monday as a failed attempt to derail a rapprochement between Moscow and Ankara, which has seen them cooperate more closely over Syria, where they have backed different sides in the conflict.

Diplomats and family members gathered at the Russian foreign ministry, a looming Stalin-era skyscraper in central Moscow, to bid farewell to Karlov, who was 62.

Strolling towards 3rd World War: Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov shot dead in Ankara

An unnamed gunman gestures after
shooting the Russian Ambassador to Turkey
, Andrei Karlov, at a photo gallery in Ankara,
Turkey, Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. Turkish
police shot and killed the gunman, Turkish
station NTV reported. Russia's ambassador
to Turkey has died after being shot in Ankara
, according to Russian Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman. #APPhoto by Burhan Ozbilici

A Turkish policeman has shot dead Russia's ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, apparently in protest at Russia's involvement in Aleppo.

Several other people were reportedly also injured in the attack, a day after protests in Turkey over Russian support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The killer, who was in civilian clothes, opened fire at point blank range as Mr Karlov made a speech.

He is said to have died in a shootout with police soon afterwards.

Mr Karlov was rushed to hospital, reports said, but his death was later confirmed by the Russian foreign ministry.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone about the attack, Mr Erdogan's office said.