Turkey's interior minister says that the gunman who assassinated Russia's ambassador to Turkey was a policeman.

Suleyman Soylu said that the gunman was working for the riot police squad in Ankara for the past 2 1/2 years. He identified the attacker as Mevlut Mert Altintas, born in 1994.

Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov was several minutes into a speech at an embassy-sponsored photo exhibition when he was shot. The assassin was later killed by police.

The gunman who killed the Russian ambassador to Turkey at a photo exhibition in Ankara shouted in Turkish "Don't forget Aleppo! Don't forget Syria!"

The man then 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."

Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov was several minutes into a speech at the embassy-sponsored exhibition when he was shot. The gunman also shouted "Allahu akbar," the Arabic phrase for "God is great." Police later killed the gunman, according to reports.

The attack comes a day before a meeting of Russian, Turkish and Iranian foreign and defense ministers in Moscow to discuss Syria.

Russia and Iran have backed Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Turkey has supported Assad's foes.