Erdogan brands Istanbul attack ‘dirty game,’ vows to crush terrorism
RT.com
1 Jan, 2017
President Tayyip Erdogan has dubbed the New Year’s Eve shooting spree that left 39 people dead at an Istanbul night club “dirty games,” vowing Turkey will fight to the end against all forms of terrorist attacks. A manhunt for the attacker is still ongoing.
“They are trying to create chaos, demoralize our people, and destabilize our country with abominable attacks which target civilians,” Erdogan said in a statement, adding “we will retain our cool-headedness as a nation, standing more closely together, and we will never give ground to such dirty games.”
“As a nation, we will fight to the end against not just the armed attacks of terror groups and the forces behind them, but also against their economic, political and social attacks,” he promised.
Erdogan linked the attack to the situation in the region. Turkey neighbors Syria, where Ankara is conducting a military operation called Euphrates Shield, which is said to be targeting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and YPG forces.
Police are still looking for the suspect who opened fire in the well-known Reina nightclub in Istanbul’s Besiktas district.
“A manhunt for the terrorist is underway. Police have launched operations. We hope the attacker will be captured soon,” said Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.
There is no clarity yet on who was responsible for the attack, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.
“Some details have started emerging, but the authorities are working towards a concrete result,” Yildirim told reporters. No group has yet come forward.
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