
Brandishing a gun, his face contorted with rage, this shocking image of a policeman assassinating the Russian envoy to Turkey has won the prestigious World Press Photo Award.

Judges praised the courage and bravery of Burhan Ozbilici, a photographer for Associated Press, who stood his ground as 22-year-old policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas pumped nine bullets into ambassador Andrei Karlov at the opening of an Ankara exhibition.

The vivid photo was shared around the world, and has been viewed some 18 million times.

Ozbilici's image was part of a series titled 'An Assassination in Turkey' that also won the Spot News - Stories category.

In the winning photo, the Turkish gunman, wearing a suit and tie, stands defiantly, pistol in his right hand pointed at the ground and with his left hand raised, his index finger pointing upward. His mouth is wide open as he shouts angrily. The ambassador's body lies on the floor just behind Altintas.

Brandishing a gun, his face contorted with rage, the shocking image of a Turkish policeman assassinating the Russian envoy to Turkey has won the prestigious World Press Photo Award

Ozbilici's image was part of a series titled 'An Assassination in Turkey' that also won the Spot News - Stories category

The photos were captured in the moments before and after policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas drew a handgun and shot Ambassador Andrei Karlov at a photo exhibition in Ankara on December 19

Another image in the series showed the ambassador before the shooting, with Altintas standing behind him

Another image in the series showed the ambassador before the shooting, with Altintas standing behind him.

The judges from the World Press Photo Foundation in Amsterdam acknowledged they had had a tough job to choose the 2017 winner from more than 80,400 images submitted by 5,034 photographers from 125 countries.

Syrian snappers Abd Doumany and Ameer Alhalbi won second prize in the Spot News category for their pictures of children caught up in the bombardments of Aleppo and Douma. It is the second year in the row that Doumany's work has been honoured by the World Press Photo foundation.

Agence France-Presse also scooped three awards. Manila-based photographer Noel Celis took third place in the General News category for his photo of inmates trying to sleep in an over-populated prison in the city.

Speaking about his winning photograph Ozbilici said his professional instincts kicked in despite the shocking scene unfolding in front of him.

Speaking about his winning photograph Ozbilici said his professional instincts kicked in despite the shocking scene unfolding in front of him. People are pictured cowering in the aftermath of the killing

Mevlut Mert Altintas stands over the body of Andrei Karlov (right) the Russian ambassador to Turkey, after shooting him at an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey

Valery Melnikov took top spot in the long-term projects category for images of civilians escaping from a fire at a house destroyed by an air attack in Luhanskaya village in Ukraine

Thomson Reuters photographer Jonathan Bachman won the Contemporary Issues - First Prize, Singles award for his image 'Taking A Stand In Baton Rouge'. It shows lone activist Ieshia Evans standing her ground while offering her hands for arrest as she is charged by riot police during a protest against police brutality outside the Baton Rouge Police Department in Louisiana, USA on July 9. Evans, a 28-year-old Pennsylvania nurse and mother of one, travelled to Baton Rouge to protest against the shooting of Alton Sterling

'It was extremely hot, like I had boiled water on my head, then very cold, very cold. Extremely dangerous,' Ozbilici said in an interview. 'But at the same time I understood that this was big history, it was history, (a) very, very important incident.'

So the veteran AP photographer did what he has learned to do over some 30 years: 'I immediately decided to do my job because I could be wounded, maybe die, but at least I have to represent good journalism,' he said.

The winning image announced Monday was among 80,408 photos submitted to the prestigious competition by 5,034 photographers from 125 countries. The jury awarded prizes in eight categories to 45 photographers from 25 countries.

This image called 'Mediterranean Migration' by photographer Mathieu Willcocks, won third prize in the Spot News, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest. It shows Libyan fishermen throwing a lifejacket at a rubber boat full of migrants

Mathieu Willcocks also took this image of two men panicking and struggling in the water during their rescue in the Mediterranean

Santi Palacios won second prize in the General News, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest with this photo of an 11-year-old girl from Nigeria (right) who said her mother died in Libya, crying next to her 10-year-old brother aboard an NGO rescue boat in July. The children had sailed for hours in an overcrowded rubber boat with other refugees during a rescue operation on the Mediterranean Sea, 16 miles north of Sabratha, Libya

A picture called 'Rescued From The Rubble' by photographer Ameer Alhalbi, won second prize in the Spot News, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest. It shows Syrian civil defence volunteers, known as the White Helmets, rescuing a boy from the rubble following a reported barrel bomb attack on the Bab al-Nairab neighborhood of Aleppo on November 24

Another photo by Ameer Alhalbi shows Syrian men carrying babies as they make their way through the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held Salihin neighbourhood of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria on September 11

'Burhan's striking image was the result of skill and experience, composure under extreme pressure and the dedication and sense of mission that mark AP journalists worldwide,' said AP Executive Editor Sally Buzbee. 'We are enormously proud of his accomplishment.'

Jury chair Stuart Franklin called Ozbilici's image 'an incredibly hard-hitting news photograph' and part of a strong series documenting the assassination.

'I think Burhan was incredibly courageous and had extraordinary composure in being able to sort of calm himself down in the middle of the affray and take the commanding pictures that he took,' Franklin said. 'I think as a spot news story it was terrific.'

Denis Paquin, AP's acting director of photography, said Ozbilici's actions that day were typical of his professionalism.

'Burhan would tell you he was just doing his job. His humble professionalism, combined with incredible courage, enabled him to capture these unforgettable images,' he said.

Pakistani photographer Jamal Taraqai captured this gruesome image of lawyers helping their injured colleagues after a bomb explosion in Quetta, Pakistan, on August 8. Some 70 people were killed when a bomb exploded outside a civil hospital where a crowd of lawyers and journalists had gathered to mourn Bilal Anwar Kasi, a senior lawyer who had been assassinated hours earlier. The image has won the first prize in the 'Spot News - Singles' category

Aftonbladet photographer Magnus Wennman won the People - First Prize, Singles award for this image of five-year-old Maha who fled with her family from the village of Hawija outside Mosul, Iraq. The fear of ISIS and the lack of food forced them to leave their home, her mother says

Among winning nature photos were images depicting humanity's devastating effect on wildlife, including a gruesome photograph by Brent Stirton of a poached rhino with its horn hacked off in Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve, South Africa

US photographer Michael Vince Kim won the People - First Prize, Stories with a series of picture including of two sisters Olga and Adelina Lim Hi

Spanish photographer Francis Perez won the Nature - First Prize, Singles award with this image of a sea turtle entangled in a fishing net swimming off the coast of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, in June. Sea turtles are considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature while unattended fishing gear is responsible for many turtle deaths

The eclectic selection of winners highlighted the dominant news topics of the last year — including conflict in Syria and Iraq, the migrant crisis, the death of longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro and the Olympic Games in Rio.

Among winning nature photos were images depicting humanity's devastating effect on wildlife, including a gruesome photograph of a poached rhino with its horn hacked off and another showing a turtle swimming while enmeshed in a green fishing net.

Among other winners, Jonathan Bachman of the United States, a photographer for Thomson Reuters, won the Contemporary Issues - Singles category with an image of Ieshia Evans being detained in Baton Rouge during a protest on July 9 over the death of Alton Sterling, a black man killed by police. Evans stands bolt upright in a flowing dress as two police officers in heavy body armor and helmets move to take her into custody.

Franklin called Bachman's image 'an unforgettable sort of comment on passive resistance. It's really a lovely photograph. You'll never forget it.'

AP photographer Vadim Ghirda, based in Romania, won second prize in the Contemporary Issues - Singles category with an emotionally charged photo of migrants crossing a river as they attempt to reach Macedonia from Greece, while another AP photographer, Felipe Dana, came third in the Spot News - Singles category for his image of an explosion in Mosul, Iraq. And Santi Palacios won second in the General News - Singles category for a photo that ran on the AP wire of two Nigerian children who said their mother died in Libya aboard a rescue boat in the Mediterranean Sea.

A woman is supported by two men while crossing a river as migrants attempt to reach Macedonia on a route that would bypass the border fence. AP photographer Vadim Ghirda of Romania won second prize in the Contemporary Issues - Singles category in the 2017 World Press Photo competition with theemotionally charged photo

A car bomb explodes next to Iraqi special forces armoured vehicles as they advance towards ISIS held territory in Mosul, Iraq. AP photographer, Felipe Dana, came third in the Spot News - Singles category for his image

The New York Times photographer Daniel Berehulak won the General News - First Prize, Stories award for his images of inmates watching drug suspects being processed inside a police station in Manila, Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines began his deadly anti-drug campaign when he took office on June 30 2016