2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting | |
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Part of the Turkey–ISIL conflict | |
The Reina nightclub in Istanbul in 2012
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Location | Istanbul, Turkey |
Date | 1 January 2017 01:15 (FET) |
Target | Patrons at Reina nightclub |
Attack type
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Mass shooting |
Weapons | AK-47 |
Deaths | 39 |
Non-fatal injuries
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70 |
Perpetrators | Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) |
Assailant | Abdulkadir Masharipov |
A mass shooting occurred at a nightclub in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on 1 January 2017. The attack occurred at about 01:15 FET (UTC+3) at the Reina nightclub in Ortaköy, where hundreds of people were celebrating the New Year. At least 39 people were killed and at least 70 were injured in the incident. The gunman, Abdulkadir Masharipov, was arrested in the city on January 17, 2017, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed credit for his actions.
Since the summer of 2016, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been under pressure with notable territorial losses due to three parallel offensives: the Turkish-Free Syrian Army Western al-Bab offensive and Battle of al-Bab, the Syrian Democratic Forces' Northern Raqqa offensive, and the Battle of Mosul in Iraq. The Turkish military intervention in Syria has been the first frontal opposition between ISIL and the Turkish Army, heating up tensions.
Before the incident, there were heightened security measures in the city, with 17,000 police officers on duty, following several attacks in the area, such as the attack on the Istanbul Atatürk Airport on 28 June 2016 which killed 48 people, and a bombing at the Vodafone Arena on 10 December 2016 which killed 46.