On Monday, the Islamic State has announced that they were the ones responsible for the New Year's Day mass shooting in an Istanbul nightclub which killed 39 people and the lone gunman is still at large.
In their announcement, it described the Reina - the nightclub where many foreigners and Turks were killed - as a gathering point for Christians celebrating their "apostate holiday" and it was their revenge for Turkey's involvement in Syria.
"The apostate Turkish government should know that the blood of Muslims shed with airplanes and artillery fire will, with God's permission, ignite a fire in their own land," said the Islamic State in their message."
Turkey, a member of NATO, is currently a part of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State and launched an incursion in Syria in August to drive the militants from its borders with the use of tanks and the special forces.
The Turkish government has yet to comment on the pronouncement of the group, which has been blamed for at least half of the attacks on civilian targets in Turkey in the past 18 months. However, this is the first time the Islamic State had responsibility for an attack in the country and the statement was made through one of its Telegram channels.
According to the reports, the victims were nationals from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Libya, Israel, Morocco, India, Canada, a Turkish-Belgian dual citizen and a Franco-Tunisian woman. The remaining victims were also foreigners according to Turkey's media outfit Anadolu. They all died from gunshot wounds with some of them showing evidence that they were shot at very close distances or point-blank range according to the report of newspaper Milliyet.
A hazy black and white photo of the alleged gunman had been released to the public with the state media TRT Haber saying that eight people have been detained in Istanbul because of this event.
In the report of the newspaper Hurriyet, the authorities believe that the attacker may have come from a Central Asian country and had links to the Islamic State. He is also suspected to be a part of the cell responsible for the gun-and-bomb attack on Istanbul's airport in June where 45 people were killed and hundreds wounded.
The recent attack in Reina - where many Turkish celebrities and wealthy visitors visit - have shook Turkey once more after the failed coup attempt in July and the bombings that were either blamed on the Islamic State or the Kurdish militants.
According to witnesses, around 600 people were inside the nightclub when the gunman shot a policeman and civilian at the door of the club and force his way in then opening fire with an automatic assault rifle. Some also heard the gunman shouting "Allahu Akbar" before firing. Some who managed to escape the attack jumped into the Bosphorus when the attacker opened fire at random just over an hour into the new year. Other witnesses also described how the gunman shot the wounded as they lay on the ground.
