The Islamic State said in a statement on Monday that it was responsible for a New Year’s shooting spree at an Istanbul nightclub that left 39 people dead and nearly 70 wounded, while authorities were still searching for the gunman.
(FOX)- The terror group said through its Aamaq News Agency that the attack was carried out by a “heroic soldier of the caliphate who attacked the most famous nightclub where Christians were celebrating their pagan feast.”
Turkish authorities believe that the gunman came from a Central Asian nation and is likely to either be from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan, Turkish media reported citing unnamed sources.
Police had also established similarities with the high-casualty suicide bomb and gun attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport in June and was investigating whether the same ISIS cell could have carried out both attacks, the papers reported.
The unidentified gunman, who is still at large, killed a policeman and another man outside the Reina club in the early hours of 2017 before entering and firing at about 600 revelers partying inside with an automatic rifle.
“Unfortunately, (he) rained bullets in a very cruel and merciless way on innocent people who were there to celebrate New Year’s and have fun,” Istanbul Gov. Vasip Sahin told reporters.