Arda leads football's condolences to Istanbul
At least 39 people were killed when a gunman opened fire on a nightclub in the Ortakoy region of the city. Istanbul was also affected by a bomb attack outside of Besiktas' stadium in December, which killed 44 people.
Published : Jan 01, 2017 20:49 IST
Turkey captain Arda Turan has led condolences from the world of football after Istanbul was hit by a terror attack on New Year's Eve.
At least 39 people were killed when a gunman opened fire on a nightclub in the Ortakoy region of the city.
Istanbul was also affected by a bomb attack outside of Besiktas' stadium in December, which killed 44 people.
Arda posted on Twitter: "Yes, we are suffering, but we will come together, stand as one and we will not let terrorism prevail. My condolences to you, my Turkey."
We strongly condemn the barbaric attack and stand by Turkey in this time of grief.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) >January 1, 2017
Besiktas added in a statement: "Terrorists who previously attacked our soldiers and police forces, have committed a vulgar attack, this time on civilians. We have complete faith in our fight against terror as a nation united."
Istanbul's other major clubs Galatasaray and Fenerbahce also offered statements of condolence.
Fener paid tribute to "the people who lost their lives as a result of this horrific terror act", while Gala said: "People whose only desire was to have a good time were murdered by a vile and inhumane act of terror."
Sefa Boydas, a footballer with lower-league Turkish club Beylerbeyispor was at the club during the attack.
He is quoted by AFP : "Just as we were settling down, by the door there was a lot of dust and smoke. Gunshots rang out. When those sounds were heard, many girls fainted. My girlfriend also fainted and I carried her on my back. They say 35 to 40 died but it's probably more because when I was walking, people were walking on top of people."