Kerry Denies US Linked to Killing of Russian Ambassador to Turkey

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan claimed loyalists of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric who lives in Pennsylvania, are responsible for Monday's killing of Ambassador Andrey Karlov

John Kerry's spokesman said Wednesday the U.S. Secretary of State has raised concerns about "some of the rhetoric coming out of Turkey" suggesting U.S. is connected to a political movement the Turkish president blames for the assassination of Russia's ambassador to Turkey, NBC News reported. 

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan claimed loyalists of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric who lives in Pennsylvania, are responsible for Monday's killing of Ambassador Andrey Karlov at an Ankara art gallery, Reuters reported.

"It's a ludicrous claim, absolutely false, there's no basis of truth in it whatsoever," State Department spokesman John Kirby later reporters of rhetoric suggesting the U.S. supported the assassination "because of the presence of Mr. Gulen here in the United States."

No motive has been released for why 22-year-old Mevlut Mert Altintas, a member of Ankara's riot police, opened fire on the envoy. Senior Turkish officials don't believe it was a lone wolf attack. 

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