ISIS Claims Responsibility for Istanbul Nightclub Attack
The Islamic State on Monday issued a rare claim of responsibility for an attack in Turkey after a New Year’s Day shooting at an Istanbul nightclub that killed at least 39 people, describing the gunman who carried out the assault — and who has not been identified or captured — as “a hero soldier of the caliphate.”
The Turkish authorities are still searching for the gunman, who killed a police officer guarding the Reina nightclub before going on a shooting rampage with a rapid-fire rifle, but the state news media reported that eight suspects had been detained in connection with the attack.
The authorities on Monday released two photographs of the person suspected of being the gunman, captured by security cameras, that showed a dark-haired, cleanshaven man in a dark winter coat. The government’s spokesman, Numan Kurtulmus, said at a news conference that investigators believed they found the assailant’s fingerprints and that they were close to identifying him.
Mr. Kurtulmus did not mention the Islamic State specifically, but he said Turkey would press the fight against terrorism.
Referring to the attack, which happened just after midnight on Sunday morning, Mr. Kurtulmus said: “The fact that it was done during the first minutes of 2017 gives an important message. The message is, ‘We will go on to menace Turkey in 2017.’ And we say to them, we will break into your caves wherever you are.”
The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on Monday that the gunman might be from Kyrgyzstan or elsewhere in Central Asia. The Russian news agency Interfax quoted Aiymkan Kulukeyeva, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Kyrgyzstan, as saying, “According to preliminary information, this information is doubtful, but we are checking all the same.”
The Islamic State asserted in a statement that the attack had been carried out “in continuation of the blessed operations that the Islamic State is conducting against Turkey, the protector of the cross.”
“A hero soldier of the caliphate attacked one of the most famous nightclubs, where Christians celebrated their pagan holiday,” read the statement from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. “They used hand grenades and a machine gun and transformed their celebration to mourning.”
In an apparent reference to Turkey’s role in the conflict in Syria, the statement warned that “the government of Turkey should know that the blood of Muslims, which it is targeting with its planes and its guns, will cause a fire in its home by God’s will.”
The statement did not name the assailant, and it was not clear whether the Islamic State had organized the attack or had merely inspired the gunman. But the shooting came just days after a pro-Islamic State group, the Nashir Media Foundation, published the latest in a series of messages calling for attacks on clubs, markets and movie theaters.
The Islamic State’s claim of responsibility came after years of complex relations between the Turkish state and the jihadist group operating across its southern border. Several terrorist attacks in Turkey over the last year have been attributed to the Islamic State, but the militant group rarely claims responsibility for major attacks in the country.
A rare exception came in November, when the group claimed to be behind a deadly car bombing in southeastern Turkey.
Analysts said that the Islamic State has walked a fine line in Turkey, trying to balance its goal of destabilizing the country without antagonizing the government to the extent that it would crack down heavily.
For years, Turkey looked the other way, according to analysts and regional diplomats, as jihadist groups moved fighters and supplies across the border, establishing deep networks in Turkish border towns.
Committed to supporting the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Turkey felt the jihadists could be managed while they fought with forces loyal to the Syrian government.
But that policy ultimately changed, as Turkey worked to secure its borders, under pressure from its allies as it took in millions of Syrian refugees and as terrorist attacks rocked the country.
Turkey began a military intervention in northern Syria in August that put its forces on the front lines against Kurdish militants as well as Islamic State fighters. This turned the jihadists decidedly against Turkey, prompting their leaders to call for attacks there.
The Turkish military said on Monday that it had struck Islamic State targets in Syria, killing at least 22 militants.
American intelligence officials had recently expressed concern about a possible attack in Turkey, warning in a statement on Dec. 22 that extremist groups were “continuing aggressive efforts to conduct attacks throughout Turkey” in areas where American citizens and expatriates lived or visited.
That warning came three days after a gunman, described by Turkish officials as a 22-year-old off-duty police officer, assassinated Andrey G. Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, at an art gallery in the capital, Ankara. The gunman shouted “God is great!” and “Don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria!” during the attack, which was captured on video.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said that 38 of the 39 people who died in the attack on Sunday had been identified, The Associated Press reported. At least two dozen of the people killed were said to be foreigners.
Source:- http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/world/europe/istanbul-nightclub-attack.html?ref=world
