ABC News :
The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for a gun attack on an Istanbul nightclub during New Year’s celebrations which killed 39 people and left dozens injured.
“In continuation of the blessed operations that Islamic State is conducting against the protector of the cross, Turkey, a heroic soldier of the caliphate struck one of the most famous nightclubs where the Christians celebrate their apostate holiday,” the group said in a statement.
Earlier Turkish media cited unnamed security sources saying they believed the gunman was likely to be an IS member from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan.
Police had also established similarities with the high-casualty suicide bomb and gun attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport in June and were investigating whether the same IS cell could have carried out both attacks, the mainstream Hurriyet newspapers reported.
The gunman, who is still at large, killed a policeman and another man outside the Reina club in the early hours of 2017 before entering and firing at an estimated 600 people partying inside with an automatic rifle.
Nearly two-thirds of the dead in the upscale club, which is frequented by local celebrities, were foreigners, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency said. Many of them hailed from the Middle East.
The mass shooting followed more than 30 violent acts over the past year in Turkey, which is a member of the NATO alliance and a partner in the US-led coalition fighting against IS in Syria and Iraq.
The country endured multiple bombings in 2016, including three in Istanbul alone that authorities blamed on IS, a failed coup attempt in July and renewed conflict with Kurdish rebels in the south-east.
In December, IS released a video purportedly showing the killing of two Turkish soldiers and urged its supporters to “conquer” Istanbul. Turkish authorities have not confirmed the authenticity of the video.
Turkey’s jets regularly bomb the group in the northern Syrian town of Al-Bab.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the attacker left a gun at the club and escaped by “taking advantage of the chaos” that ensued.
The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for a gun attack on an Istanbul nightclub during New Year’s celebrations which killed 39 people and left dozens injured.
“In continuation of the blessed operations that Islamic State is conducting against the protector of the cross, Turkey, a heroic soldier of the caliphate struck one of the most famous nightclubs where the Christians celebrate their apostate holiday,” the group said in a statement.
Earlier Turkish media cited unnamed security sources saying they believed the gunman was likely to be an IS member from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan.
Police had also established similarities with the high-casualty suicide bomb and gun attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport in June and were investigating whether the same IS cell could have carried out both attacks, the mainstream Hurriyet newspapers reported.
The gunman, who is still at large, killed a policeman and another man outside the Reina club in the early hours of 2017 before entering and firing at an estimated 600 people partying inside with an automatic rifle.
Nearly two-thirds of the dead in the upscale club, which is frequented by local celebrities, were foreigners, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency said. Many of them hailed from the Middle East.
The mass shooting followed more than 30 violent acts over the past year in Turkey, which is a member of the NATO alliance and a partner in the US-led coalition fighting against IS in Syria and Iraq.
The country endured multiple bombings in 2016, including three in Istanbul alone that authorities blamed on IS, a failed coup attempt in July and renewed conflict with Kurdish rebels in the south-east.
In December, IS released a video purportedly showing the killing of two Turkish soldiers and urged its supporters to “conquer” Istanbul. Turkish authorities have not confirmed the authenticity of the video.
Turkey’s jets regularly bomb the group in the northern Syrian town of Al-Bab.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the attacker left a gun at the club and escaped by “taking advantage of the chaos” that ensued.
