On Wednesday Turkish police raided six locations in the western province of Bursa in connection with the nightclub attack and detained 27 suspected Islamic State members, the state Anadolu news agency reported. Islamic State claimed responsibility the next day, saying the attack was revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria. Turkish troops entered Syria last August to push Islamic State away from the border and halt Kurdish militia advances. Like many cities around the world on New Year's Eve, Istanbul had taken additional security measures, deploying 25,000 police officers to try to thwart attacks after a year of bombings by Islamic State and Kurdish militants. Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin said on Tuesday that Masharipov had admitted his guilt and that his fingerprints matched those at the scene.

Source: The Star January 18, 2017 18:16 UTC