According to Turkish media reports, the police officer who shot dead Andrey Karlov recited a message in Arabic which has a number of similarities with the unofficial `anthem` of the rebel group Al Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda.

"The attacker is a policeman," Melih Gokcek said on his official Twitter account, after numerous reports on social media identifying the gunman, who was smartly dressed in a suit and tie.

The Yeni Safak daily said on its website that the attacker -- named as M.M.A. -- worked with anti-riot police in Ankara but was not on duty during the shooting.

Gokcek cried "Aleppo" and "revenge" as he shot dead Russia`s ambassador to Turkey at an art exhibition in Ankara on Monday, in what Moscow said was a "terrorist act".

Andrei Karlov died of his wounds after the shooting, which occurred on the eve of a key meeting between the Russian, Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers on the Syria conflict.

"Today in Ankara as a result of an attack the Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov received wounds that he died from," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in televised comments.

"We qualify what happened as a terrorist act," she said. "The murderers will be punished.

"Today this issue will be raised at the UN Security Council. Terrorism will not win out."

Dramatic television footage showed a man in a dark suit and tie waving a gun and gesturing in the air at the Ankara exhibition hall.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said the gunman had been "neutralized" in a police operation, without giving further details.

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had been informed, while the Turkish presidency said Turkish President Recep Erdogan had already spoken to his Russian counterpart.

"The president has spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to share information about tonight`s attack," presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in a statement.

The incident came after days of protests in Turkey over Russia`s role in Syria, although Moscow and Ankara are now working closely together to evacuate citizens from the battered city of Aleppo.

Pictures published by the Hurriyet daily showed at least two men in suits lying flat on the ground as another man brandished a gun.

FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES:Russia`s ambassador to Turkey killed in Ankara shooting

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