ISIS have claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in a Turkish nightclub that killed 39 people. The claim was made via the terrorist group’s twitter account, who said, “In continuation of the blessed operations which ISIS carries out against Turkey, a soldier of the brave caliphate attacked one of the most popular nightclubs while Christians were celebrating their holiday.”
The first terrorist attack of 2017 took place at the Reina nightclub. Eight people have since been arrested though it is not believed the main suspect is among them. Video footage shows the suspect shooting security guard Fatih Cakmak and police officer at the entrance to Reina.
Those killed included visitors from India, Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Canada, Russia and Tunisia.
One witness, Yunus Turk, told CNN, “We were having fun. At first we thought it was a fight, then there was a lot of gunfire. After the gunfire everyone started to run toward the terrace. We ran as well. There was someone next to me who was shot and fell on the floor. We ran away and hid under the sofas.”
There are fears the attack could lead to similar copycat attacks around the world as people continue to ring in the new year.
