One person had lost their life: Santa Maria Church attacker Viskhan Soltamatiov captured in Istanbul

Viskhan Soltamatiov, one of the planners of the January 28 attack on the Santa Maria Italian Church who also provided the weapon used, has been captured in Istanbul as a result of MIT's operations.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

Tuncer Cihan lost his life in the armed attack that took place at the Santa Maria Church on January 28. Within the scope of the investigation launched following the incident, teams conducted simultaneous operations at 30 addresses and detained 51 suspects. Some of the suspects, who were determined to have no connection to the incident, were handed over to a repatriation center for deportation after their procedures were completed. In the referral letter sent to the Istanbul Criminal Judgeship of Peace regarding the suspects who were detained and requested to be arrested in the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, details regarding the attack were included. The referral letter stated that Edelkhan Inazhaev and his wife Zharaidat Esmurzieva, who were considered to be connected to David Tanduev, one of the suspects who carried out the attack, were captured at an address in the Güvercintepe neighborhood of Başakşehir, and that a blank-firing gun converted into a live weapon and an empty magazine were seized during the search.