Photo by By Davidetorino at Italian Wikipedia

It was New Years Eve of 2016. People were waiting for the New Year to come at midnight in Istanbul, Turkey. The clock hit midnight and all the sudden people heard a banging noise. They thought it was a fight, but it ended up being a terrorist shooting at them.

CNN explains, “‘We were having fun. At first we thought it was a fight, then there was a lot of gunfire,’ witness Yunus Turk told CNN.”

About two-thirds of those who were at the nightclub who were killed, were foreigners, mainly celebrities who were visiting the country for the New Year’s holiday.

Per The Guardian, “The gunman killed a police officer and another person in order to enter the Reina nightclub, which overlooks the Bosphorus in the wealthy Ortaköy neighbourhood of Turkey’s largest city. Nearly two-thirds of those killed in the club, which is frequented by celebrities, were foreigners. Many of them were from the Middle East. Sixty-nine people were injured.”

For a long time, the terrorists within Syria (Turkey shares a border with Syria) weren’t being watched because of their action against the President of Syria.

NPR reports, “And to top that, Turkey was very concerned about Kurdish independence in Syria. There are Kurdish groups in northern Syria, and the Islamists fighting against Bashar Assad were also fighting against the Kurds, who are more secular and nationalist group. So Turkey had reasons in a way to not worry too much about Islamist infiltration of Turkey and Syria, and it paid the price down the line.”

There were dozens of people who were in the hospital following the attacks on the nightclub. Some of them were in critical condition.

CNN explains, “Dozens of people were hospitalized. As of Monday, 46 were still being treated, including one American, according to the Istanbul governor’s office. A handful of the injured were in critical condition.”

The attack on the nightclub was in retaliation for recent bombings on key ISIS territory. The terrorist group made a statement saying why they were attacking the Turkey nightclub.

The Guardian reports, “‘We let infidel Turkey know that the blood of Muslims that is being shed by its airstrikes and artillery shelling will turn into fire on its territories,’ the statement said.”

Christian Aid Mission is helping Syria refugees in Turkey by providing them with aid.

Christian Aid states, “The ministry recently visited 2,350 of the 10,000 tents in the area, as well as 220 homes – about 11,000 refugees within two months, he said. With assistance from Christian Aid Mission, workers were able to provide flour, oil, tomato sauce, milk and other basic food items, along with clean water.”

Pray for Christian Aid as they provide aid and that many would know Christ’s hope because of it.

CNN: Istanbul attack: ISIS claims nightclub shooting; killer still at large

The Guardian: Isis claims Istanbul nightclub attack as perpetrator remains at large

NPR: Civilian Attack In Istanbul Marks Shift In Turkey-ISIS Dynamic

Christian Aid Mission: Syrian Refugees in Turkey Growing More Desperate