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The Russian ambassador to Turkey has been killed in a shooting at an art gallery, the Russian foreign ministry has confirmed.

A gunman opened fire while diplomat Andrei Karlov was giving a speech at a photo exhibition in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Monday.

The attacker is a 22-year-old off-duty police officer, Turkey's interior minister confirmed.

Mr Karlov, 62, was initially said to be seriously injured but it has since been confirmed that he died from his wounds.

A man wearing a suit and tie reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" and "Don't forget Aleppo" and fired at least eight shots just minutes after the envoy started speaking, a press photographer in the audience said.

Witnesses also said he also yelled: "Stand back. Stand back. Only death will take me out of here. Anyone who has a role in this oppression will die one by one."

Russia's Foreign Ministry said they are treating the shooting as a "terrorist act".

The attacker also said some words in Russian and smashed photos hung in the exhibition.

Turkish police have fatally shot the gunman involved, according to the NTV news channel.

Ankara's mayor, Melih Gökçek, said the attacker was a policeman and believes the attack was aimed at Turkey-Russia relations.

Photos from the scene taken by people inside the art gallery show the ambassador giving a speech reportedly just moments before he was shot.

Outside the cultural centre were scores of armed police and emergency vehicles.

The attack comes a day after protests in the country over Russia’s bombing in Syria.

Security around the Russian embassy in Ankara has been stepped up after the gun attack, it has been reported.

A spokesman for the UN said they condemned the attack and hope the perpetrator is brought to justice.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "Terrorism will not win and we will fight against it decisively."

"The memory of an outstanding Russian diplomat, Andrei Gennadyevich Karlov, a person who did a great deal to fight terrorism in his diplomatic post, will always be in our hearts."

PM Theresa May told Parliament she was “concerned” about the shooting.

"I was just looking at what I believe ... is some breaking news, that the Russian ambassador to Turkey has been shot, a matter which is yet to be confirmed, but I think is a matter of concern," May said in the middle of a question and answer session.

Mr Karlov has been the Russian ambassador to Turkey since July 2013, having started his diplomatic career for the former Soviet Union in 1976, according to the website for his embassy.

He was born in Moscow in 1954 and is married with one son.

Much of Mr Karlov’s career has been in North and South Korea.

He worked in the Soviet embassy in North Korea in two spells between 1979 and 1984 and then between 1986 and 1991.

A year later he started a five-year posting in the Russian Federation’s embassy in South Korea.

He returned to North Korea in 2001 as ambassador extraordinary for a further five years.

PM Theresa May told Parliament she was “concerned” about the shooting.

"I was just looking at what I believe ... is some breaking news, that the Russian ambassador to Turkey has been shot, a matter which is yet to be confirmed, but I think is a matter of concern," May said in the middle of a question and answer session.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson condemned the "despicable murder" of the ambassador.

Mr Johnson left the House of Commons chamber immediately when news of the Ankara incident broke.