islamic state, this is the pkk?ic state and the pkk come from com pletely state and the pkk come from completely opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, the pkk is secular, nationalist, militant, seeking independence from 30. islamic state has a religious worldview, that does not recognise the board that today determined tu rkey‘s the board that today determined turkey's middle —— turkey and the middle east. how does ankara, how does residents urdu and deal with this double threat that he is facing, there have been lots of suggestions and allegations that the authorities simply did not wake up quickly enough to the threat of islamic state. and now, instability across the board in syria has helped to make it more of a problem in dealing with kurdish islamists. —— president erdo an. the turkish government needs to reassess its policies, not just rely government needs to reassess its policies, notjust rely on a security response to these twin threats from islamic state and the kurdistan workers party, pkk, they need

this has the homework's of a splinter group of the pkk. pkk suggest they don't have control over that group. many experts argue over how much control the pkk have, but this has the hallmarks of the kind of attack they would have carried out. they are responsible for two attacks last month, one in istanbul, and the second off-duty commandos in a provincial city. having said all of that, islamist state, while they usually target civilians, they have in the past also targeted state institutions and security forces as well. sarah: what has the reaction been to this bombing inside turkey? dorian: well, again, this is shock. this is the second major attack in five days. the country is still recovering from the deadly attack in istanbul. add to that that the attacker is still at large. one of the government managed to escape this attack. this will again cause questions over the security forces and their ability to stop attacks, and lead to a somber mood in the country that whatever the security forces do, the attacks continue, and there are fears

you mentioned the pkk and islamic state. the answer is we still do not know yet.nor of istanbul is coming out with a very strong statement, saying without doubt this was terrorism. yeah. clearly this country sadly has become accustomed to such terror attacks that target public areas, police, security forces. what has tended to happen is that the pkk, the kurdish militant group, has targeted the security forces, police and the army. a few weeks ago, there was a twin bombing ina weeks ago, there was a twin bombing in a stable outside a football stadium which targeted police. that was claimed by a kurdish militant group —— in istanbul. they have been other attacks on the airport, which killed a0 people injured. that was claimed by islamic state. the fact this heat and nightclub with revellers and civilians among the casualties, that would point, i suppose, towards the islamic state group. at this point it is too early to tell who is behind this attack. we never islamic state has released a video saying that turkey is very much targeted by the group, that they are try

some shouting slogans against the kurdish separatists, the pkk.eady said he believes they are behind the attack. the group, however, has not claimed responsibility. 39 people were killed in a terror attack at new year in a nightclub in istanbul. so—called islamic state claimed to be behind it. speaking at the opening of a metro line in turkey's capital, ankara, the president said the country would not be divided by terror. translation: they couldn't destroy our unity and won't be able to do so. they couldn't harm our unity and solidarity and they won't be able to. now it is the normally peaceful seaside town of izmir that is in mourning as once again turkish people are left with a sense of fear for their safety in their own country. catriona renton, bbc news. and aaron is here with all the business news. good morning, how are you? some good news about samsung ? good morning, how are you? some good news about samsung? you remember the phones exploded, it seems to be moving on from that. let me explain. we start with samsung. in the last few our in

. >>> the outlawed pkk says they were not behind the attack on the nightclub in istanbul a massive man hunt continues in turkey for the shooter who killed at least 39 people, young people celebrating the new year. most of those killed were foreign nationals. the gunman has not been identified. this security footage shows him shooting his way into the club. so far there's no claim of responsibility. and reaction around turkey to yet another deadly, ugly terrorist attack. ian, hello. >> reporter: hi, natalie. we've just this morning seen people come to the side of the attack at the nightclub, they're leaving flowers offering their condolences. this is a attack that has previously shook the company. it raises questions about security. right now there is that massive nationwide man hunt looking for this man about at tack. was he acting alone? did he have help? this is things that the government is looking in to right now. we are able to narrow it down a bit to the list of suspects with the pkk coming out and saying that they had no part in this. there is the executive board member speaking

briefly, if you would, so—called islamic state a possibility, the pkk a possibility? exactly.threats from both the islamic state and the pkk, this has been a long—running situation in the south—east. been a long—running situation in the south-east. with regards to now what happens, we've obviously got this investigation, the big thing that's missing is where is the gunman are gunman? there are several suggestions about this. ever since the story broke about one hour ago, we've been trying to put the pieces together and we've been very careful in not conveying information that unconfirmed. in this story there's a lot of unconfirmed information. probably because of the extraordinary timing of the incident. it is new year's and it is ha rd to incident. it is new year's and it is hard to get accurate information. there are some suggestions that he was still around the premises and there are some suggestions that he is not. it is currently very much unconfirmed, as many other pieces of information are unconfirmed at this stage. there is talk about people jumping into the sea to esc

ergodan and some of the thing he is doing with continued aggression against isis and the pkk they haveow seen him and his government as a target. so that's why i think we are going to see more attacks in turkey. >> turkey is in a tough position given their relationship to syria and their proximity to iraq. how might all this affect turkey's position or its role in the region? i mean, does it shake what little stable there might be left? >> i'm not sure that's going to happen. i think the collusion between turkey and russian and iran is going to be somewhat problematic as we go into the peace taugs. you are also seeing turkey, which is a nato member, colluding with russia, which has been seen by many in nato as not being real helpful to some of the governments and policies within nato proper. you are seeing turkey somewhat as a wild card now dealing with russia in a peace process, countering assad and syria, somewhat going on it on its own launching forces across the border as they have done fighting against not only the terrorists that were fighting assad but also the kurdish freedom f

pkk attacks turks the same way they attack isis.ay, rulee to use one of law, throrough the united nations, r right? of the't just arm a wing pkk hoping they're just going to get to the test organization and hope them to act like a political the ricotta organization. this would be a mistake. and a a nato member of the unitd states supplying arms to pkk in syria and then calling it a terrorist organization in turkey is very difficult to understand in turkey. amy: i want to thank you both for being here, koray caliskan, speaking to us from istanbul, professor of political science at bazeecha university in istanbul. and kani xulam director of the am a american kurdish information network. we will be back k in a minute. ♪ [music break] amy: "strange fruit close go too sun byby billie holiday. lewis allen, the stage name formeeropol. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the british singer rebecca ferguson has said she'd be willing to accept the invitation to perform at donald trump's inaugur

pkk denied responsibility for it. isis has opinion inciting their followers in turkey to make this attack. to answer your first question is turkey is tremendously vulnerable to all of this. >> let's talk about ambassador, why you believe turkey is so vulnerable. you have the proximity to syria sharing a border and the fact they are fighting isis in syria. what has made turkey so incredibly vulnerable. the time i spent in turkey i was there three years ago, i could not have felt more safe. it's changed so much, so quickly. >> you're absolutely right. it's shocking the way it's changed so quickly. it's a dangerous part of the world. that's a cliche but as you know they have an 800-mile border with syria. it's a border that's very difficult to prevent infiltration. it's been infiltrated by isis militants. it's very, very difficult for them to stop. the pkk had been extremely active and they are in a war situation with them. there's multiple sources. i think that the particular, immediate context is the agreement that the

it is still the early stages after the attack. —— point the to pkk.circumstances. the country is meant to be on high alert, how will the turkish respond? is less than a week after the attack in istanbul, on the nightclub on new year's eve which killed 39 people and was claimed by so—called islamic state, with the gunmen still at large. yes, a huge security challenge and a huge security challenge and a huge security question as ever for the country, how do the authority secure a country of 80 million people that borders syria and iraq, that has a kurdish insurgency in the south—east and which faces this twin threat over the past year, i so—called islamic state but also kurdish militants, the pkk, you cannot do that with increased police alone, there is an increased presence all across the country, what you have to do it by better intelligence, warren intelligence agencies, mi6, the cia, they are here in turkey, they have operatives helping the turkish intelligence services. —— foreign intelligence services. —— foreign intelligence agencies. clearly the

the government denies it, saying the pkk restarted it. and fostering jihadists in syria.t is a divided country and it is a -- it is a very divided country and fearful one and there is an urgent need to find this gunman to reassure turks moving forward. laura: mark lowen, thank you. for more on the attack and the search behind it, i spoke a brief time ago steven cook of the council on foreign relations . islamic state has been suspected of being behind previous attacks in turkey. why would they come out and claim responsibility for this one? steven: it is a great question, and i think the turkish authorities are unsure whether this was planned by the islamic state or whether the gunman was merely inspired by calls on part of the islamic state to take up arms against the turks. this does not have a hallmarks of an islamic state attack. usually there are more spectacular bombs associated with it. but nevertheless we should take it at face value that islamic state may be involved. laura: how much of a quandary does this pose for turkish authorities, having for years been accu

officials have blamed kurdish group the pkk for the attack.er: this cctv footage conveys the scale of the fatal blast. reporter: now the mangled wreckage of the car bomb at a checkpoint where several people have been killed and injured. turkish police say the bomb was detonated after officers attempted to stop a vehicle in front of the courthouse. eyewitnesses describe what happened next. >> i was at the security cabinet and a black car approached and crashed into a policeman. he got out of the car and exploded a bomb he had in his hand. iran into the market and lay -- i ran into the market and lay down on the floor. reporter: police shot dead a man they suspected of detonating a bomb, following a shootout involving the police and a number of men carrying machine guns. the area has now been sealed off for further investigation. the governor has already said he believes kurdish separatists the pkk are behind the attack. the group has not claimed responsibility. it was just a week ago in istanbul that 39 people were killed in a terrorist attack

the government suspects the kurdish militant group, the pkk, of carrying out this attack.r said weapons suggested a much bigger attack was being planned. this cctv footage silently conveys the scale of the fatal blast in izmir. now the mangled wreckage of the car bomb litters the police checkpoint where several people have been killed and injured. turkish police said the bomb was detonated after officers attempted to stop a vehicle in front of the courthouse in izmir. eyewitnesses described what happened next. translation: i was at the security cabin when a black car approached and crashed into a policeman. he got out of the car and exploded the bomb he had in his hand. i ran into the market and lay down on the floor. police at the scene shot dead a man they suspected of detonating the bomb, following a shoot out involving police and a number of men carrying machine—guns. the area has now been sealed off for further investigation. the governor of izmir says he believes that kurdish separatists, the pkk, are behind the attack. the group has not claimed responsibility, howev

experience with attacks, both from daesh, and that's what this was i'm almost certain, and from the pkkroughly ten major terrorist attacks with casualties running in the dozens or more. what makes you so certain that it is an attack carried out at least in the name of the islamic state group? the two other attacks in istanbul, the airport and then an attack close to the blue mosque, both targeted tourists, foreigners, as well as the tourist industry in general. most of the people killed in the attack last night at the nightclub were in fact foreigners. why is istanbul, turkey, being targeted in this way, do you believe? it's available. isis is next door in syria and iraq. they have built a cell in turkey. earlier on, when the turks were not very... ..careful about who they were providing arms and support to in syria. thirdly and most importantly, the turks are waging a strong offensive in northern syria against isis positions. there is a considerable amount of fighting. the turks have put their own ground troops in. isis sees the turks as one of their key enemies. how difficult do you t

believe is still at large, wearing a black jacket and a white beret. 0fficials say they expect that the pkkt group were behind the attack and may believe a much larger attack and may believe a much larger attack was foiled given the number of weapons found including machine guns and grenades. it's a few days after the new year's eve attack on the reina nightclub, that gunman is still at large. arrests have been made in istanbul but not the gunmen, leaving people feeling nervous. it has shown how difficult it is to secure turkey. how to keep the country secure turkey. how to keep the cou ntry safe. secure turkey. how to keep the country safe. 80 million people, bordering syria and iraq, it has the kurdish insurgency in the south—east, and it has the pkk and so—called islamic state. more police alone is clearly not the answer, they must have better intelligence. some attacks are being foiled but others are happening and that shows intelligence gaps and it is making this country feel extremely worried going into 2017. mark mentioned the istanbul attack, we had a development on that today. but

now we know that the pkk is mostly targeting security forces, military groups, police forces.ilians in public spaces, like istanbul airport in the last couple of months. still room for it to be cautious. we had to wait for the official statement about this. the prime minister emphasised it is still quite early to say who is behind it. to pick up that point. this attacker has effectively attacked a way of life for many people in turkey. go out, have a party, behave normally on new year. go to party, behave normally on new year. gotoa party, behave normally on new year. go to a nightclub. is also attacked an airport. it is an attack on your way of life. not as with the pkk, something where they could be a negotiated settlement, because they wa nt negotiated settlement, because they want something political which is perhaps achievable. definitely. good to remember that turkey is carrying out ground operations against is at the moment, currently inside syria. it is involved in military sources with the syrian groups it is supporting. this is an attack on a certain lifestyle. i was

in the last hour the leader of the kurdish militant group the pkk has denied any kurdish involvemente gunman opened fire at the reina club at about half past one in the morning, and among the dead are fifteen foreigners —— from israel, saudi arabia and morocco. our turkey correspondent selin girit has sent this report. we are only seconds away from a new year... one of the most famous nightclubs in istanbul, reina, packed with a jubilant crowd, ready to welcome in the new year. five, four, three, two... they are counting down to what they hope will be a fresh new start. but then this happens. a man armed with a long—barrelled weapon opens fire outside the venue. he kills a policeman and another civilian as he rushes his way in. the club immediately turns into the scene of a massacre, as the attacker fires on the people partying inside. dozens are killed and wounded. survivors still in shock of what they have been through. translation: i had my back turned. my husband suddenly told me to get on the floor. a man ran inside, two or three people started firing, and then there was this fo

unfortunately they have had much experience with the tax, both from isis and from the pkk in the pastterrorist attacks with casualties running into dozens or more. what makes you so certain that it is an attack carried out at least in the name of the islamic state? the two other attacks in istanbul, at the airport and the attack close to the blue mosque, both targeted tourists, foreigners, as well as the tourists, foreigners, as well as the tourist industry in general and most of the people killed in the attack last night at the nightclub, where in fact foreigners. why is it and turkey being targeted in this way do you believe? several reasons, first of all, it is available because isis is just next door in syria and iraq and they have built up sales in turkey earlier when the turks were not herfault turkey earlier when the turks were not her fault about who they were providing arms and support to in syria. thirdly, the turks are waging a very strong offensive in northern syria against the positions of isis and there is a considerable amount of fighting, the turks are put in their own

they have a minority pkk terrorist problem. all turkish kurds support the pkk, but that terrorist group is very active in turkey. then they had their coup, which we can't underestimate the importance of, how that's really changed turkish politics and frozen people in place. made the hard-liners, everyone, more hard line in their position. so, it's a difficult place to work with right now. >> the turkish prime minister is headed to iraq this week to prove ties. obviously the problem, we were just showing this on a map from turkey's perspective,there are kurds, the yellow area in the middle,there are kurds in turk y there are kurds in syria, there are kurds in iraq, there are kurds in iran and armenia. they would all like to take this area and make it into kurdistan. something turkey is not interested in it. >> turkey is not interested in. appears none of these countries named are particularly interested in it. that's the problem. kurds are the largest nationality without a state, the largest ethnic group without a state. and som

the local government says that initial reports point to the kurdish group the pkk.pretty soon after the attack. inevitably, we have to ask about security, because this was outside a date, vulnerable, potentially public building, outside a courthouse, and really not that long after run appalling shooting, albeit in a different city, but something which again placed the country on alert. there have been so many attacks over the last year, both targeting official buildings like this, and the attack that happened less than a week ago at the nightclub in istanbul that killed 39 people and was claimed by so—called islamic state. the big challenge for the authorities is how to provide security in this country. there are clear breaches in the intelligence and security services that are allowing these attacks to happen, although it must be said that the intelligence and security services are preventing other attacks. turkey is, frankly, just extremely vulnerable at the moment, exposed to the twin threats of islamic state and the pkk kurdish militant group, both of which are

pkk coming out today strongly condemning this attack and saying they didn't have any responsibility.t does leave isis. there is also the probability it could be another group or a lone wolf that is responsible for this attack. no one has claimed responsibility and the government hasn't yet placed responsibility. >> right, because there is much to do to find this gunman. do we even know if this was a gunman? have they identified him at all? are there any leads as far as his whereabouts? >> reporter: well, we haven't heard of any leads from the government so far, but they are saying that he will be caught soon and that there is strong coordination between the security services. but there is a nationwide manhunt underway, and they are very keen to find out who he is. we haven't heard a name. we've seen a picture from the security footage that has been running. that is a crucial piece of evidence of trying to identify who he is. but the police haven't released his name. they do not know if there was anyone helping him, but that is also going to be something they're going to be looking fo

what turkey wa nts of tension with the pkk. what turkey wants is to partition syria.rkey joining a few years ago we would have been talking about turkeyjoining the eu, not going to happen now. thank you for joining not going to happen now. thank you forjoining us. it‘s a monumental test of endurance which sees teams row thousands of miles across the atlantic without any assistance. we followed the yorkshire rows last year as they took on the talisker atlantic challenge, and now four friends are following in their wake. breakfast‘s tim muffett went to meet them before they set off. why embark on a journey as arduous as this? 3,000 miles unsupported, rowing across the atlantic. for sam, toby, rory and harry, the answer is clear, as they explained before setting off. ten years ago, my brother james passed away. he took his own life. i have always wanted to do something injames‘ memory, and along came the challenge of rowing the atlantic. that‘s why we‘re here. whenjames died, i was really blissfully unaware of what a major problem suicide is, especially in young men. the

who was behind the latest bomb attack but let's remind ourselves, this year has seen attacks by the pkk state group. ina group, but also islamic state group. in a wave of attacks that have engulfed not only istanbul and anchor up at the south—east of the country as well. it will be yet another devastating attack in this country —— ankara. another devastating attack in this country -- ankara. at very much. mark lohan with the latest on the attack in istanbul. there will be more coverage as the story develops. i would like to wish you all, from bbc news, a very happy new year, not the way we would like to be reporting for the start of the gear that we wish you good night. the latest headlines from bbc news. at least 35 people have been killed and a0 wounded in an armed attack on a nightclub in istanbul, turkey. state media says an attacker fired shots during new year celebrations at the trendy reina nightclub. as the world rings in 2017, terrorism is a serious concern. there's tight security in a lot of countries. many new year events are seeing heavily armed police and troops. the united

there has been a number of attacks, not just by isis, but attacks by the kurdish militants, the pkk,h sides have killed dozens. the pkk mainly targets the police and military and security services while isis goes after softer targets and civilians. this is a country that is in the grips of terror attacks. the government here is trying to show confidence to the people and reassure them they are on top of it. at the same time, people are wondering after a year and a half with so many deadly attacks. can the government really provide security for the people in the country and tourists. this country relies on tourism. they wonder the same thing. >> ian lee in istanbul this morning. thanks, ian. >>> 40 minutes past the hour. a health scare for queen elizabeth. she misses her second holiday church service in a row. we will give you an update on the 90-year-old queen's health. that's next. >>> welcome back to "early start." this morning, new health concerns for queen elizabeth. she did not attend new year's service. citing a heavy cold. despite her absence, a source told cnn the queen is up

there's a decades's long, against knowing the pkk, they have trong allies, sort of ethnic kinmen in northern syria, northern iraq, and elsewhere in the middle east. so the fact that the turkish government is both attacking isis and attacking these kurdish separatists means that anybody could be behind this, and anybody could be trying to launch attacks against a soft target like this one around the holidays. but you know, when people talk about it in turkey, they use a different tone than how the government talks about it. erdogan, who's basically led turkey in one form or another for much of the past decade, he has been using every terrorist attack in turkey as a pretext to launch a crackdown on any other group that he sees as his own political opposition. some of these attacks that seem to have the indicators of isis being behind them he's blamed on kurdish separatists. one of the most recent attacks, earlier in december that was a bombing that struck mostly police officers outside of a stadium in central istanbul and killed about 38 police officers and wounded some 150 more, erdogan went

the pkk, the kurdish insurgency strictly limits their attacks to turkish security forces. and, of course, a movement was on july 15th, as you pointed out. the series of attacks we're seeing that's traumatizing the country and focusing particularly on international venues like this nightclub, like the airport, and particularly tourists, as we saw last night, that's isis. that's daesh. they're trying to bring this country to its knees. >> why turkey? >> several reasons. first of all, it is right next door to isis' headquarters in raqqah and mosul. isis created cells in turkey to move people and weapons out of the country. president erdogan of turkey launched a military campaign in northern syria against isis moving toward raqqah at the northeast. they're fighting right now, a vicious fight. because he is taking action on the ground against isis, isis is striking back. >> let me read you part of what president erdogan of turkey said in the wake of this attack. a a nation, we will fight till the end against not just the armed attacks of terror groups but also against their eco

they are often the targets of the kurdistan freedom falcons, a splinter group of the pkk.ussia's ambassador to turkey is at the opening of an art exhibition in ankara. a man should send. he shouts about the slaughter in aleppo -- a man shoots him. few in turkey have hopes that the horrors of 2016 will stop at the end of the year. sarah: islamic state has also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the iraqi capital of baghdad that killed at least 35 people. the international poster drive it out of mozilla -- driving out of mosul. reporter: it was packed with women, traveling through a busy market in baghdad's sadr city, when a pickup truck detonated. this was the latest in a string of attacks by islamic state which regularly target children and especially shia areas. the attack came during a one-day visit by the french president, francois hollande. after talks with iraqi leaders, he pledged to extend france's military and humanitarian support for the iraqi government. "we have a common entering -- common enemy. it is terrorism. this enemy, we need to let it down i

but it seems to me that this pkk connection makes it a little harder to sell. but there will be huge progress if there is this agreement and this is something we could work with in my view. the key issue for us, the urgent issue is what do we do about isis? and i think that for us this political settlement is a more longer term issue. the i sies is the urgent issue. and i suspect we could get progress with the russians on this perhaps and then we can bring others along. but i think without us would be difficult, especially if we opposed it. >> i haven't seen this draft constitution and if they take it to gentlemeva that would be a s they want to broaden the base of support. >> that's the question. if they don't come into it it's going to go nowhere. they're not even at the table. >> in the civil war status. >> i don't know whether -- sorry, whether turks will go as far as if they are gone. and i'm not sure they have without talking to the saudis. >> and i would add, even in the obama administration, there were clear signals over the last few months of a willing

wide pda, p white d, they are all the same as pkk. n names and abbreviations, we should clean the area of those terrorist organisations. we should have a political solution, a lasting peace in syria, and once iraq is also cleaned of daesh then peace will be instilled and everybody can go back to their homes. regional disputes, regional complex, need to be settled. i mean, you cannot close doors who fled those regions of problems. the international community, the united nations and all countries should put more effort into this and a short solve those problems even for problems get even more complicated. so, this is what we expect from the international community, our friends aboard, we expect from the international community, ourfriends aboard, to ease the burden of turkey. they should put their hands on the rock, as well. they appreciate others but this is not enough, they should take a bit of our burden as well. thank you. any other questions? caroline? cani you. any other questions? caroline? can i ask both prime ministers to retur

some of the attacks have been blamed on so—called islamic state and some on kurdish pkk militants.ording to turkish state tv, more than 250 people have lost their lives in a year many turks were eager to leave behind. as a result public gatherings for new year's eve are already restricted, with about 17,000 police on duty and a country already nervous. but, just as it entered 2017, turkey was reminded once again that tight security can't always prevent such a determined attack. a former member of the turkish parliament earlier spoke to us. i asked whether the attacks were likely to be targeting the nightclub 01’ likely to be targeting the nightclub or the new year's eve celebrations. this was not only targeting one of istanbul's top nightclubs but also a symbolic target, that is, targeting a secular lifestyle, targeting western lifestyle. it is in fact quite similar to the paris attack in the sense that the islamic state, if it is confirmed that they were behind the attack, is yet again trying to undermine turkey's secular western lifestyle. so from that point of view this is not o

the governor of izmir has already said he believes that kurdish separatists, the pkk, are behind theat 39 people were killed in a terrorist attack, carried out by the so—called islamic state. the security forces grapple with today's events in the normally peaceful seaside town of izmir. turks are again left with a sense that they are no longer safe in their own country. let's go straight to istanbul where we can speak to our correspondent rengin arslam. that's the point — we are raising a level of fear in a country that's already terrified. yes, this country is terrified. and what happens today is terrified. and what happens today is also very shocking. it is pure sadness and shock that the country is feeling at the moment, just five days after the new year. the previous attack, claimed by the so—called islamic state was only two hours into the new year and actually having 2016 full of attacks, all around the country, turkey was hoping for a peaceful, better year but obviously the first signs of this year is not really promising and now we have this izmir, which is normally a very pe

a leader of the kurdish militant group, the pkk, has denied any involvement.ark lowen reports from istanbul. the mood was of celebration. one of istanbul's top nightclubs, reina, counting down to 2017. five, four, three, two... they expected a night ofjoy, a fresh start — not this. less than two hours into the new year, a gunman opened fire outside, bullets ricocheting as he shot a policeman and a civilian. another camera showed people carolling as the attacker struck before he stormed the club. —— cowering. inside, his killing spree continued — turks and foreigners murdered, others jumping into the freezing bosphorus to escape. dozens more were injured, some critically. the gunman is still at large. witnesses spoke of the horror. translation: i had my back turned. my husband suddenly told me to get on the floor. a man ran inside. two or three people started firing. then there was this fog. i fainted at that moment, until special forces took us out of there. they shot randomly. there were bodies lying on the floor. today, the scene was heavily guarded. too lat

have been blamed on so—called islamic state and some on so—called islamic state and some on kurdish pkkts. according to turkish state tv, more than 200 people have lost their lives. public gatherings for new year's eve were already restricted with around 17,000 police on duty and the country already nervous. but, just as it entered 2017, turkey was reminded once again that tight security cannot always prevent such a determined attack. we can see some pictures live from istanbul. there was one gunman, one armed attacker, contradiction earlier reports that there were more than one assailants. we understand that he was dressed as santa claus. he shot a policeman and civilian outside the nightclub before entering and spraying bullets. at the moment, the interior minister is saying he's still on the loose, but god willing, in the words of the turkish interior minister, we will apprehend him. we know that there we re apprehend him. we know that there were 39 people who have been killed at least and 15 of them have so far been identified as foreigners although more bodies are yet to be identif

some of the attacks have been blamed on so—called islamic state and some on kurdish pkk militants.ccording to turkish state tv, more than 200 people have lost their lives. public gatherings for new year's eve were already restricted with around 17,000 police on duty and the country already nervous. but, just as it entered 2017, turkey was reminded once again that tight security cannot always prevent such a determined attack. this update was given on the attacker. according to the information received from the police, there was one gunman, not multiple gunman. he was wearing a coat and trousers, he went inside as he opened fire, and we were told he was wearing different clothes inside and he tried to get out. our police forces continue to assess this information. it's not fully confirmed but i believe three of the five turks killed in the end attack we re five turks killed in the end attack were employees, we are carrying out a study to confirm this. we will go to our with water in istanbul in the next hour. buckingham palace has said the queen will not attend a new year's day churc

they're now fully at war with so—called islamic state and they're fully at war with the pkk, the kurdishty, gorilla group. they're fighting several —— guerrilla groups. they‘ re they're fighting several —— guerrilla groups. they're fighting several battles. it's not easy for turkey. frank, thank you. and the so—called islamic state group has also claimed responsibility for a series of bomb attacks in iraq. in one incident 35 people died, when a suicide bomber detonated a device at an outdoor market in the shi'ite neighbourhood of sadr city in baghdad. a british soldier has died, while serving in iraq. the ministry of defence says it happened in taji, 17 miles north of baghdad, and isn't the result of enemy activity. 0ur correspondent simonjones is at the ministry of defence tonight. simon, just bring us up to date with the latest on this. there are currently 650 british soldiers in iraq, but not in a combat role. their task is to train members of the iraqi defence forces in the fight against so—called islamic state. there is a training campjust north of baghdad. we know that iraqis have

criticism very strongly and says that turkey is facing numerous terror threats, as it is, from the pkkroups that are home—grown and have launched attacks for decades. he is a man who gives rather short shrift to criticism frankly. he frequently hits out at western officials and governments but that and governments but, that said, britain is very good terms at the moment with turkey. the europe minister was the first europe minister to come to turkey after the failed coup and that was hugely appreciated in ankara and borisjohnson was here a few weeks ago and the trade minister has also been here so britain is ahead of the queue, if you like in terms of other european countries, but there will still be difficult talks and president recep tayyip erdogan is a tricky man to do business with. we are ahead of the queue, but how does turkey view britain as a prospective partner in the future? i think that they see the opportunities clearly to trade with britain that, as ever in this hugely divided country, there are some who believe that britain coming here is the west meddling with turkey. th

does, gregg, isis, turkey has been essentially dealing with two types of terrorist groups, one is the pkk a kurdish separatist movement and target military officials, police, military. isis specifically said they're going to target where westerners and nonbelievers attend, large groups. they said they were going to target new year's eve-type celebrations and this was a target against civilians, and a soft target of the so to me, it looks a lot like an isis attack. >> turkey, ben, is supposed to be an ally with the u.s. in the war against isis. indeed, turkey has over the last several months sent tanks and warplanes across the border into syria, in a coordinated campaign with western backed syrian opposition fighters tried to capture several isis strongholds, but you think erdogan has, what, tacitly supported the islamic state in the past, and therein lays the trouble? >> look, absolutely. i mean, look, erdogan, this guy was arrested in 1999 for inciting religious violence himself. there's a reason why in turkey, the military stood against islamic governance and erdogan has done everything