Turkey extends state of emergency as hunt for nightclub killer continues

Published January 4th, 2017 - 09:00 GMT
People lay flowers Tuesday in front of a memorial at the Reina nightclub, scene of Istanbul's deadly New Year's attack. (AFP/Yasin Akgul)
People lay flowers Tuesday in front of a memorial at the Reina nightclub, scene of Istanbul's deadly New Year's attack. (AFP/Yasin Akgul)

The manhunt continues in Turkey for the Istanbul nightclub killer, with an overnight police raid on a house that yielded nothing, and new findings emerging from the investigation.

Fourteen arrests have been made so far.

All the 180 bullets fired at the New Year massacre came from one weapon, an AK 47, and all 39 victims were shot at close range. All but one has now been identified. Another 65 people were wounded, four seriously.

Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack, but it is not known if the house raid was following an Daesh lead. New images have been released of the gunman. Police say they believe he is either an Uzbek or Kyrgyz.

A silent march of local business owners was held in the city for the victims. Twenty-five of the Reina nightclub victims were foreign and the country’s already-depressed tourist industry is likely to suffer another blow.

The prime minister says Turkey’s State of Emergency, in place since July 15, will be extended for “as long as needed”, with an initial extension of three months, but Daesh has indicated Turkey is now its number one target. Ankara cannot afford to drop its guard.

Editor's note: This article has been edited from the source material.

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