The jihadist group Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a Catholic church in Istanbul, although there are doubts about the authorship and motivation of the attack, which Turkish authorities are investigating. Two individuals with their faces covered by balaclavas entered the temple during Sunday mass and opened fire in the air and at a specific person, who died shortly after in a hospital to which he had been transferred. The minister has announced the arrest of the two alleged attackers.
In a statement that was distributed on social networks, the Amaq agency, linked to the jihadist group, states that “two Islamic State fighters carried out an attack on a Christian church” in “response to calls from the leaders of the Islamic State of attack Jews and Christians anywhere.” However, the way in which the statement is expressed – different from previous texts in which it claims other attacks – and the fact that it includes information that was published shortly after the attack occurred, but was later denied, raises doubts about the authorship and whether It is an attack directly linked to the jihadist organization, inspired by its ideas or, simply, the group tries to take advantage of the incident by taking credit for it opportunistically. It is also not ruled out that it is an attack carried out by a criminal group.
The events occurred at 11:40 this Sunday (two hours less in mainland Spain) when two individuals entered the church of Santa María, located in the northern district of Sariyer, very close to the Bosphorus Strait. At that time, Sunday Mass was being celebrated, attended by, among other regular members of the parish, the Consul General of Poland in Istanbul, Witold Lesniak, and his family.
In a recording from the security camera inside the church, which was broadcast by several Turkish media before a court imposed a ban on publishing it, a white-haired man is seen entering the church in the middle of the ceremony, and Immediately behind him, two individuals covered in balaclavas arrive. A shot is fired towards the roof of the temple, after which the faithful crouch for protection behind benches and chairs. Then, one of the attackers goes after the white-haired man, whom he shoots at point-blank range. Subsequently, they aim in several directions, apparently without firing other shots, and, after checking the exit, escape on foot.
The man, who was seriously injured and died in hospital, has been identified as Tuncer Cihan, 52 years old and of Turkish nationality. Two of his relatives have explained to local media that he was a “simple and good” person, “without enemies,” “not involved in politics” and that he suffered from a “slight intellectual disability.” He had begun to attend Sunday masses with his paternal uncle and the faithful saw him “from Sunday to Sunday,” when he attended mass and then stayed for coffee, according to one of the attendees.
The Minister of the Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, announced late on Sunday that the “two suspected perpetrators” of the attack in Santa Maria have been arrested, although he did not add more details about what paths the investigation is taking. During the afternoon he had been informed of the arrest of a person in alleged connection with the attack. The Turkish president, the Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has telephoned the priest in charge of the church and the Polish consul to convey his condolences and has condemned the attack, in addition to promising a prompt resolution of the case.
In the past, attacks against temples, religious and members of the small Christian community in Turkey have occurred in Turkey, such as the murder of Father Andrea Santoro in 2006 and the beheading of three people linked to a missionary community in 2007, cases whose ultimate motivations were not completely clarified.