Turkish minister slams police connection in envoy's murder

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said late Tuesday that it is a great disrespect and defamation for the Turkish police to be presented as the perpetrator of Russian envoy Karlov's assassination.

"It is a terror attack, it is very clear. The connections behind this attack will also come to light," Bozdağ said during a speech in the Turkish Parliament in the capital Ankara.

The minister said that the dark and dirty connections behind the murder cannot be hidden by using police uniform or title. "I am sure that the investigations will reveal all the ties of the attacker. Don't doubt that," Bozdağ said.

Andrey Karlov died after being shot multiple times at an art exhibition in Ankara on Monday evening.

Karlov was delivering a speech when the assailant, 22-year-old policeman Mert Altintas, opened fire on him.

According to diplomatic sources, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry late Tuesday that Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) was behind Russian envoy Karlov's assassination.

U.S.-based cleric Fetullah Gulen and his terrorist group FETÖ had initiated a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through infiltrating Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming a 'parallel state'.