Istanbul attack: From sorrow to manhunt for killers, city coping with loss of lives
At least 16 foreigners were among 39 people killed in the gun attack on an Istanbul club during New Year festivities, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Monday.
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Thirty-nine people, including two Indians, were killed on Sunday when a gunman went on a rampage at an exclusive nightclub in Istanbul where revellers were celebrating the New Year. Turkey’s state-run news agency said that in what was suspected to be a terror attack, an armed assailant has opened fire at a nightclub in Istanbul during New Year’s celebrations. AP
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Medics and security personnel soon cordoned off the area and rescued the wounded after the attack that killed 39 people and injured 69 others. Some media reports state that the attacker, who is yet to be formally identified, had fought in Syria for Islamic State jihadists and used techniques he had learnt in the civil war. Turkish authorities have banned distribution of images relating to the Istanbul attack within Turkey. AP
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This image taken from CCTV provided by Haberturk Newspaper shows the attacker, armed with a long-barrelled weapon, shooting his way into the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday morning. AP
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Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu confirmed a “manhunt for the terrorist is under way. Police have launched operations. In Istanbul, at least 17,000 police officers were deployed after the attack. Turkey is still reeling from a failed July coup blamed by the government on the US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen that has been followed by a relentless purge of his alleged supporters from state institutions. AP
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The assailant shot dead a policeman and a civilian at the club entrance and then went on the rampage inside where up to 700 people were ringing in the New Year. As many as 11 Turks and were killed as the horrific massacre unfolded near the Bosporus Strait, prompting a rescue operation by the Coast Guard. Others were citizens from Israel, France, Tunisia, Lebanon, India, Belgium, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. AP
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Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the attacker escaped and was now the target of a major manhunt, expressing hope the suspect “would be captured soon”. The attack evoked memories of the November 2015 carnage in Paris when Islamic State jihadists went on a gun and bombing rampage on nightspots in the French capital, killing 130 people including 90 at the Bataclan concert hall. AP
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An estimated 600 people were celebrating inside the club that is also frequented by famous locals, including singers, actors and sports stars. Several shocked revelers were seen fleeing the scene after the attack as the music fell silent. The country has been rocked by a series of deadly attacks in 2016 carried out by the Islamic State group or Kurdish militants, killing more than 180 people. AP
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Mourners carry the Turkish flag-draped coffin of Fatih Cakmak, one of the victims of the attack. Of the 39 dead, 27 were foreigners, mainly from Arab countries, with coffins repatriated overnight to countries including Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. The Islamic State group has claimed the massacre, the first time it has clearly stated being behind a major attack in Turkey. AP
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The shooting, which unleashed scenes of carnage and panic among party-goers at one of Istanbul’s swankiest venues, took place just 75 minutes into 2017 after a bloody year in Turkey in which hundreds of people were killed in violence blamed on both IS jihadists and Kurdish militants. In a statement circulated on social media, the jihadist group said one of the “soldiers of the caliphate” had carried out the attack on the Reina nightclub. It accused Turkey, a majority-Muslim country, of being a servant of Christians, in a possible reference to Ankara’s alliance with the international coalition fighting IS in neighbouring Syria and Iraq. AP
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The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, is illuminated in the colours of the flag of Turkey on Monday, Jan. 2, 2017. Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said at the scene on the shores of the Bosphorus that the attacker “targeted innocent people who had only come here to celebrate the New Year and have fun”. AP
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