PO BAG 1: mass shooting

3 January 2017

IS makes unusual claim of responsibility for Turkey attack

Flowers of the victims of the attack are placed outside a nightclub, which was attacked by a gunman overnight, in Istanbul, on New Year's Day, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. An assailant believed to have been dressed in a Santa Claus costume and armed with a long-barrelled weapon, opened fire at the nightclub in Istanbul's Ortakoy district during New Year's celebrations, killing dozens of people and wounding dozens of others in what the province's governor described as a terror attack.

The Islamic State group on Monday made an unusual claim of responsibility for a major terrorist attack in Turkey, saying a "soldier of the caliphate" carried out the mass shooting at an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people as they welcomed the new year.

The group said Christian revelers were targeted in response to Turkish military operations against IS in northern Syria, but most of the dead were foreign tourists from Muslim countries.

1 January 2017

New Year's attack on packed Istanbul club leaves 39 dead

Medics and security officials work at the scene after an attack at a popular nightclub in Istanbul, early Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. Turkey's state-run news agency said an armed assailant has opened fire at a nightclub in Istanbul during New Year's celebrations.

An assailant believed to have been dressed in a Santa Claus costume opened fire at a crowded nightclub in Istanbul during New Year's celebrations, killing at least 39 people and wounding close to 70 others in what the province's governor described as a terror attack.

Gov. Vasip Sahin said the attacker, armed with a long-barreled weapon, killed a policeman and a civilian outside the club at around 1:45 a.m. Sunday before entering and firing on people partying inside. He did not say who may have carried out the attack.