Attackers Open Fire at Nightclub in Istanbul, Killing 35

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Istanbul Nightclub Attack

BURSA, Turkey — Attackers dressed in Santa Claus suits opened fire inside a crowded Istanbul nightclub about an hour after midnight on New Year’s Day, killing at least 35 people and wounding dozens more, Turkish officials said.

Gov. Vasip Sahin of Istanbul Province called it a terrorist attack. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the shootings, which came as threats against Turkey by the Islamic State and its supporters have increased. It was the fourth terrorist attack in Turkey in less than a month.

This one started about 1:15 a.m. at the popular nightclub Reina, which overlooks the Bosporus and is known for its celebrity clientele. As many as 600 people were celebrating the New Year when the assailants, who were said to be armed with Kalashnikov rifles, burst in, officials said.

Mr. Sahin said the attackers — initial reports said there had been as many as three — had fired on the police before heading inside.

“One person first kills the police officer outside, and then a civilian,” Governor Sahin said. “Inside, he rained bullets brutally, mercilessly over innocent people who were there just to celebrate the New Year and have fun.”

In the ensuing panic and the rush to escape, some clubgoers jumped into the Bosporus — which separates Europe and Asia — and other hunkered down for safety.

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Sinem Uyanik, who was there with her husband, Lutfu Uyanik, told The Associated Press she had seen several bodies inside the club. Her husband was wounded, she added, but not seriously.

“Before I could understand what was happening, my husband fell on top me,” she said. “I had to lift several bodies from on top of me before I could get out.”

A wounded man on a stretcher told the independent Turkish news agency DHA that the attackers had “put a bullet to the head of anyone alive.”

Television footage showed dozens of ambulances rushing to the scene and people fleeing, some walking with difficulty, arm in arm.

The Hurriyet news website said three attackers in Santa costumes had opened fire at the security staff members at the gate before storming into the club. NTV, a Turkish network, said the police were still searching for the attackers.

Reina’s owner, Mehmet Kocarslan, told Hurriyet that security measures had been beefed up over the past 10 days after American intelligence officials had warned about an attack in Turkey over the holidays.

The shooting came just days after the Nashir Media Foundation, a group identified by experts as being pro-Islamic State, published the last of three messages calling on individual attackers in the West to turn the holiday season into days of “terror and blood.” It urged attacks on clubs, markets and movie theaters.

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In addition, there have been numerous official threats by the Islamic State, including from its highest official, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who in his most recent speech called for attacks against Turkey.

On Dec. 22, the United States government issued a statement that extremist groups were “continuing aggressive efforts to conduct attacks throughout Turkey” in areas where United States citizens and expatriates lived or visited. The statement urged caution about being in crowded places and public gatherings during the holidays.

A White House official said President Obama had been briefed by his national security advisers about the nightclub attack. Mr. Obama expressed his condolences and offered assistance to the Turkish authorities.

Ned Price, a spokesman for the National Security Council, condemned the attack in a statement and said the savagery of the attackers was underscored by how they had targeted “innocent revelers.”

“We reaffirm the support of the United States for Turkey, our NATO ally, in our shared determination to confront and defeat all forms of terrorism,” he said.

Turkey is still recovering from a coup attempt that began on July 15 in which at least 265 people were killed.

Though the effort sputtered in a matter of hours, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded with a monthslong crackdown targeting dissidents across Turkish society. In addition to arresting thousands of military personnel suspected of involvement in the coup, hundreds of thousands of civil servants, educational workers and journalists have been suspended.

The Turkish prime minister, Binali Yildirim, directed news outlets to curb their reporting about the nightclub attack and to await official government updates. He invoked a law that casts reporting on such attacks as supporting terrorists.

The coup and the assassination of the Russian Ambassador Andrey G. Karlov in Ankara on Dec. 19 raised concerns that the country’s security establishment has grown ineffective. The internal turmoil also raised doubts about how well Turkey will be able to participate in international counterterrorism efforts, especially against the Islamic State.

In the wake of the crackdown, protests against Mr. Erdogan have led to frequent clashes between demonstrators and the police. And reports of targeted attacks against civilians after martial law was declared in July have revived painful memories of the political violence Turkey experienced in the 1970s and 1980s.

Turkey’s struggles with security had already grown severe months before the coup attempt. A spate of suicide bombings and other attacks since 2015 was capped off by the June 28 attack on Istanbul Ataturk Airport, the country’s busiest. The attack left 45 people dead.

A Kurdish militant group claimed responsibility for a double bombing that killed 39 people and wounded 154 outside a soccer stadium in Istanbul on Dec. 10. That death toll ultimately climbed to 45.

A car bombing in central Turkey killed 13 soldiers and wounded more than 50 other members of the military on Dec. 17. Two days later, Mr. Karlov was assassinated.

The attack on Saturday occurred in the Ortakoy district on Istanbul’s European side. It is an international travel destination known for its food stalls and vibrant night life.