http://aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-denies-having-intelligence-on-istanbul-club-attack-/718382
Embassy in Ankara rejects media speculation, says U.S. and Turkey 'consult closely in combating terrorism'
01.01.2017
The U.S. embassy in Turkey on Sunday rejected media claims it had prior intelligence about the deadly terror attack at an Istanbul nightclub.
"Contrary to rumors circulating on social media, the U.S. Government had no information about threats to specific entertainment venues, including the Reina Club, and the U.S. Government did not warn Americans to stay away from specific venues or neighborhoods," the embassy said in a statement.
At least 39 people, including a police officer, died after an attacker opened fire on partygoers at the venue in Istanbul’s Ortakoy district in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
Sixty-nine people were also hurt, with a number of foreigners among the dead and injured.
"As the White House and our embassy indicated earlier today, we categorically condemn last night’s terrorist attack," the U.S. statement continued.
Sunday's statement came after Mehmet Kocarslan, owner of Reina nightclub, claimed U.S. sources had intelligence on the attack, but later clarified his remarks, saying the U.S. had warned its citizens against such attacks.
The embassy in Ankara said a general threat warning was issued on Dec. 22 "for Turkey and various parts of Europe, as we do whenever there are indications that American citizens might be targeted or subjected to violence".
"The U.S. and Turkish agencies consult closely in combating terrorism, including by sharing information on suspected terrorist threats. This cooperation will continue as we confront the shared threat of terrorism," it added.
Not doubt this is another religious motivated attack. On Friday sermon Diyanet speak against new year celebrations. Same events happened in Pakistan in Las masjid, when these religious motivated people were spreading hate, Our army killed 100+ people in Lal masjid operation.
There are always few extremists, better to control them first before they get out of hand. Deal them with bullet language.
Republic of Turkey is going through the same similar like Republic of India.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ne...tack.aspx?pageID=238&nID=108008&NewsCatID=509
Turkey was shaken once again in the first hours of 2017, as one of Istanbul’s jet set nightclubs was raided by a gunman who killed 39 and wounded 65 people, four of whom are in a critical condition.
The terrorist arrived at Reina nightclub on the coast of the Bosphorus at 01.15 a.m. local time in a taxi, according to eyewitness accounts. He took a bag from the trunk, removed an automatic rifle from the bag, shot the policemen waiting in front of the club as he was crossing the street, and then stormed his way inside, spraying bullets on the nearly 800 people (including employees) who were celebrating the new year. He then removed his overcoat and cap and disappeared in a different outfit.
Security experts speaking on Turkish TV say the attacker behaved in a “professional, trained and cold-blooded” manner and had likely previously explored the site to gather intelligence.
As of midday on Jan. 1 no one had claimed responsibility. But sources in
Ankara say the investigation focused on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or DEASH in Arabic initials, which has been carrying out many terrorist attacks other than suicide bombings, as in the recent example in Berlin, Germany.
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http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/id...tack.aspx?pageID=238&nID=107999&NewsCatID=509
The identities of 35 victims killed in an armed attack at a nightclub in central Istanbul on Jan. 1 have been confirmed as 24 have been identified as foreign citizens, while eleven of them were reported to be Turkish citizens.
Istanbul’s famous Reina nightclub was hit by an armed attack just over an hour into the new year. The gunman had reportedly entered the club by killing a policeman and a civilian at the entrance of the club and later shot his way into the club at the celebrating crowd.
The foreign victims were identified as seven Saudi Arabian nationals, two Indians, one Canadian, one Syrian, one Israeli, two Tunisians, four Iraqis, one Lebanese and one Belgian.
Earlier, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said 20 of the victims were identified, while works to identify the other 19 were ongoing. Some 69 wounded were also undergoing treatments at 10 different hospitals, of which four of them were reportedly in “critical condition.”
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry was quoted by the official Petra news agency as saying that three of its citizens were killed and another four injured.
The Tunisian Foreign Ministry said on its Facebook page that two Tunisians had died, with media reports describing the victims as a businessman and his wife.
