- Title: No clarity yet on responsibility for Istanbul attack - Turkish PM
- Date: 1st January 2017
- Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (JANUARY 1, 2017) (REUTERS) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, BINALI YILDIRIM, WALKING TOWARDS MICROPHONE STAND (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, BINALI YILDIRIM, SAYING: "Some details have started emerging. Police and intelligence officers are coordinating and are working towards a concrete result. Police and security officials will share information as it becomes available during the investigation." CAMERAMEN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, BINALI YILDIRIM, SAYING: "He left his gun at the crime scene and fled taking advantage of the chaos. Police forces are working on the case. All options are considered. They are working meticulously." CAMERAMAN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, BINALI YILDIRIM, SAYING: "Terror cannot intimidate us. We will intimidate terror. We will continue to fight against it. Our biggest insurance is to see our people standing in solidarity and supporting our resolve. As long as this solidarity continues, there is nothing we can't overcome." CAMERAMAN FILMING YILDIRIM LEAVING VARIOUS OF POLICEMEN LINED UP OUTSIDE THE NIGHTCLUB MAN LEAVING CRIME SCENE OFFICIALS STOOD OUTSIDE NIGHTCLUB PEOPLE GATHERED AT SITE VARIOUS OF RED CARNATIONS AND CANDLE LIT ON THE GROUND
- Embargoed: 16th January 2017 14:20
- Keywords: Turkey attack gunfire. wounded casualties nightclub gun attack Prime Minister Binali Yildirim
- Location: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
- City: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA0015X90E2V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Turkish authorities are starting to uncover evidence about a gun attack on an Istanbul nightclub which killed 39 people on Sunday (January 1) but there is no clarity yet on who was responsible, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.
People jumped into the Bosphorus waters to save themselves after the attacker opened fire at random in the Reina nightclub just over an hour into the new year. Officials spoke of a single attacker but some reports, including on social media, suggested there may have been more.
The Hurriyet newspaper cited witnesses as saying the attackers shouted in Arabic as they opened fire.
"Some details have started emerging. Police and intelligence officers are coordinating and are working towards a concrete result. Police and security officials will share information as it becomes available during the investigation," Yildirim told reporters, when asked about who might have been behind the attack.
The Reina club is one of Istanbul's best known nightspots, popular with locals and foreigners. Some 600 people were thought to have been inside when the gunman shot dead a policeman and civilian at the door, forced his way in and then opened fire.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said 15 or 16 of those killed at Reina were foreigners but only 21 bodies had so far been identified. He told reporters 69 people were in hospital, four of them in critical condition.
Nationals of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon, Libya, Israel and Belgium were among those killed, officials said. France said three of its citizens were wounded.
A manhunt for the attacker is underway after he escaped the scene during the confusion.
"He left his gun at the crime scene and fled taking advantage of the chaos. Police forces are working on the case. All options are considered. They are working meticulously," said Yildirim.
The attack shook NATO member Turkey as it tries to recover from a failed July coup and a series of deadly bombings in cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara, some blamed on Islamic State and others claimed by Kurdish militants.
Turkey faces multiple threats including spillover from the war in Syria. Beside its cross-border campaign against Islamic State, it is fighting Kurdish militants in its southeast.
The prime minister vowed not to be cowed by the threat of attacks.
"Terror cannot intimidate us. We will intimidate terror. We will continue to fight against it. Our biggest insurance is to see our people standing in solidarity and supporting our resolve. As long as this solidarity continues, there is nothing we can't overcome," Yildirim said.
Security services had been on alert across Europe for new year celebrations following an attack on a Christmas market in Berlin that killed 12 people. Only days ago, an online message from a pro-Islamic State group called for attacks by "lone wolves" on "celebrations, gatherings and clubs". - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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