Istanbul terror attack: 35 killed as gunman 'dressed as Santa' opens fire at nightclub in Turkey
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Footage from outside the club
1 JANUARY 2017 • 12:47 AM
At least 35 people have been killed in a gun attack at a famous nightclub in Istanbul during New Year's Eve celebrations.
A gunman reportedly dressed in a Santa costume shot a police officer before storming the Reina club in the Ortakoy area of the city.
"Unfortunately, at least 35 of our citizens lost their lives. One was a police officer. Forty people are receiving treatment in hospitals," Vasip Sahin told reporters at the scene of the elite nightclub on the city's European side, describing the incident as a "terror attack".
There were several hundred people in the club at the time. Many party-goers threw themselves into the Bosphorus in panic after the attack and efforts were underway to rescue them from the waters, NTV television said.
The whereabouts of the attacker was still unknown. Police special forces and explosives experts were searching the club, an NTV correspondent at the scene said.
TV footage showed armoured police vehicles surrounding the nightspot as ambulances rushed to the scene.
Police cordoned off the area about 2 miles away from the nightclub as multiple ambulances rushed to the scene.
First aid officers carry an injured woman at the site of an armed attack CREDIT: AFP
Security measures had been heightened in major Turkish cities, with police barring traffic leading up to key squares in Istanbul and the capital Ankara.
In Istanbul, 17,000 police officers were put on duty, some camouflaged as Santa Clause and others as street vendors, Anadolu reported.
Ambulances rush to the Reina nightclub, where gunmen opened fire on New Year's Eve CREDIT: EPA
Turkey has been on high alert after being the target of a number of recent attacks by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and Kurdish extremist groups.
In March, at least 37 people died in a bombing at a bus stop in Ankara, an attack that was claimed by Kurdish militant group TAK.
And in June, a suicide bombing at Istanbul airport killed 45 people.
More to follow.
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RIP to the victims.The Turkish government needs to beef up its security and intelligence apparatus to reduce and the art terror attacks to the minimum, though it's difficult to completely stop such terrorists completely , However they shouldn't be able to strike at will so frequently every month. Maybe there is a security/intelligence vacuum due to the massive purges after the coup, if so that needs to be quickly filled as well.
All the best to Turkey tackling these Islamic extremists.
