Massive manhunt underway after gunman kills 39 people in Istanbul nightclub

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"111265417"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><p>A huge manhunt is taking place in Turkey after a gunman targeted a crowded Istanbul nightclub during New Year celebrations&comma; killing at least 39 people before fleeing&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Foreigners were among those killed&comma; including an 18-year-old Israeli woman&comma; three Indian citizens&comma; a 26-year-old man from Lebanon and a Belgian national&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Close to 70 others were injured in what authorities described as a terror attack&period; Three of the wounded were in a critical condition&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vehemently condemned <i>&&num;8220&semi;the terror attack in Istanbul&&num;8217&semi;s Ortakoy neighbourhood in the first hours of 2017&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;i> and offered condolences for those who lost their lives&comma; including &&num;8220&semi;foreign guests&&num;8221&semi;&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The attacker&comma; armed with a long-barrelled weapon&comma; killed a policeman and a civilian outside the popular Reina club at around 1&period;15am before entering and firing on people partying inside&comma; Governor Vasip Sahin said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><i>&&num;8220&semi;Unfortunately&comma; &lpar;he&rpar; rained bullets in a very cruel and merciless way on innocent people who were there to celebrate New Year&&num;8217&semi;s and have fun&comma;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;i> Mr Sahin told reporters&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and authorities did not name any suspects&period; The bloodiest attacks that Turkey endured in 2016 were the work of the so-called &&num;8216&semi;Islamic State&&num;8217&semi; group or Kurdish militants&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Turkey is a member of Nato and a partner in the US-led coalition against &&num;8216&semi;IS&&num;8217&semi;&period; The country is also facing renewed conflict with Kurdish rebels in the south east&comma; and across the border in Syria and Iraq&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><amp-youtube layout&equals;"responsive" width&equals;"696" height&equals;"392" data-videoid&equals;"2Q9qcXkXqzQ" title&equals;"Suspect On Run After Turkey Nightclub Attack"><a placeholder href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;youtu&period;be&sol;2Q9qcXkXqzQ"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i&period;ytimg&period;com&sol;vi&sol;2Q9qcXkXqzQ&sol;hqdefault&period;jpg" layout&equals;"fill" object-fit&equals;"cover" alt&equals;"Suspect On Run After Turkey Nightclub Attack"><&sol;a><&sol;amp-youtube><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said a suspect has not been identified and that the gunman remains at large&period; Mr Soylu&comma; describing the attack as a &&num;8220&semi;massacre&comma; a truly inhumane savagery&&num;8221&semi;&comma; said three or four of the Turkish victims may have been employees at the nightclub&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><i>&&num;8220&semi;Our security forces have started the necessary operations&period; God willing&comma; he will be caught in a short period of time&comma;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;i> Mr Soylu said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Private NTV news channel said the assailant entered the upmarket nightclub&comma; on the shores of the Bosporus&comma; on the European side of the city&comma; dressed in a Santa Claus outfit&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Security camera footage obtained by The Associated Press from Haberturk newspaper shows the gunman dressed in black and carrying a backpack as he shoots down a police officer outside the Reina nightclub&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Footage taken by a different camera shows him inside the venue wearing different clothes and a Santa Claus hat&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>However&comma; Turkey&&num;8217&semi;s prime minister denied that the gunman wore a Santa Claus outfit&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><i>&&num;8220&semi;There is no truth to this&period; He is an armed terrorist as we know it&comma;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;i> Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He said the attacker left a gun inside the venue and escaped by &&num;8220&semi;taking advantage of the chaos&&num;8221&semi; that ensued&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Some customers reportedly jumped into the waters of the Bosporus to escape the attack&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><amp-youtube layout&equals;"responsive" width&equals;"696" height&equals;"392" data-videoid&equals;"UXlThhVzvck" title&equals;"New Year massacre&colon; Dozens dead in Istanbul nightclub attack"><a placeholder href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;youtu&period;be&sol;UXlThhVzvck"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;i&period;ytimg&period;com&sol;vi&sol;UXlThhVzvck&sol;hqdefault&period;jpg" layout&equals;"fill" object-fit&equals;"cover" alt&equals;"New Year massacre&colon; Dozens dead in Istanbul nightclub attack"><&sol;a><&sol;amp-youtube><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Mehmet Dag&comma; 22&comma; was passing by the club and saw the suspect shoot at a police officer and a bystander&period; He said the suspect then targeted security guards&comma; gunning them down and entering the club&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><i>&&num;8220&semi;Once he went in&comma; we don&&num;8217&semi;t know what happened&period; There were gun sounds&comma; and after two minutes the sound of an explosion&comma;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;i> Mr Dag said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Turkish media said the victims include a 22-year-old police officer and a 47-year-old travel agent&comma; both of whom were shot outside the club&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The nightclub area remained sealed off this afternoon&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Heavily armed police blocked the snowy street in front of the nightclub where the entrance was covered with blue plastic sheeting below a Turkish flag&period; Police patrolled the Asian side of the Bosporus on the other side of the club&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Turkey&&num;8217&semi;s Minister of Family and Social Policies Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya said citizens of Saudi Arabia&comma; Morocco&comma; Lebanon and Libya were among those hurt in the attack&period; The US Consulate General in Istanbul on Sunday warned American citizens to keep their movements in the city &&num;8220&semi;to an absolute minimum&&num;8221&semi;&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The UN Security Council condemned the attack &&num;8220&semi;in the strongest terms&&num;8221&semi;&comma; calling the assault &&num;8220&semi;a heinous and barbaric terrorist attack&&num;8221&semi;&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In a statement&comma; the council members also expressed sympathy and condolences to the families of those killed and of the dozens of those wounded&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The council said it reaffirms <i>&&num;8220&semi;that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security&&num;8221&semi;&period;<&sol;i><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>A statement reminded US citizens that extremists <i>&&num;8220&semi;are continuing aggressive efforts to conduct attacks in areas where US citizens and expatriates reside or frequent&&num;8221&semi;&period;<&sol;i><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The United States also denied reports in Turkish new outlets and on social media that its security agencies knew in advance that the nightclub in Istanbul was at risk of a terror attack&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The US Embassy in Ankara said that <i>&&num;8220&semi;contrary to rumours circulating in social media&comma; the US Government had no information about threats to specific entertainment venues&comma; including the Reina Club&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;i><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Major attacks carried out by IS or Kurdish militants killed more than 180 people in Istanbul and Ankara alone in 2016&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>On December 10&comma; a double bomb attack outside a soccer stadium near the Reina nightclub killed 45 people and wounded some 150 others&period; The attack was claimed by Turkey-based Kurdish militant group&comma; the Kurdish Freedom Falcons&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><i>&&num;8220&semi;Turkey continues its combat against terror and is absolutely determined to do whatever is necessary in the region to ensure its citizens&&num;8217&semi; safety and peace&comma;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;i> Mr Erdogan said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div style&equals;"padding-bottom&colon;15px&semi;" class&equals;"wordads-tag" data-slot-type&equals;"belowpost">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div id&equals;"atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ed121047922">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<script type&equals;"text&sol;javascript">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;getAdSnippetCallback &equals; function &lpar;&rpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;if &lpar; false &equals;&equals;&equals; &lpar; window&period;isWatlV1 &quest;&quest; false &rpar; &rpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&sol;&sol; Use Aditude scripts&period;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;tudeMappings &equals; window&period;tudeMappings &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&semi;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;tudeMappings&period;push&lpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;divId&colon; 'atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ed121047922'&comma;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;format&colon; 'belowpost'&comma;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&rcub; &rpar;&semi;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&rcub;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&rcub;&NewLine;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;if &lpar; document&period;readyState &equals;&equals;&equals; 'loading' &rpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;document&period;addEventListener&lpar; 'DOMContentLoaded'&comma; window&period;getAdSnippetCallback &rpar;&semi;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&rcub; else &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;getAdSnippetCallback&lpar;&rpar;&semi;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&rcub;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;script>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>


Discover more from London Glossy Post

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

- Advertisement -
Exit mobile version