3 Lebanese killed, several wounded in Istanbul attack
Written by Malek

Khazen.org presents its deepest condolences to the victims of  the Istanbul Reina Nightclub Ortakoy Istanbul nightclub in New Year's celebrations. The Lebanese victims Elias Wardini, Rita Chami, Haykal Mousallem. May the virgin Mary protect them and help the family of the victims & quick recovery for the injured!!!

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W460

Elias Wardini in the picture funeral

By Naharnet: Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday declared national mourning over the Lebanese victims of Istanbul's nightclub massacre as the country bid farewell to three youths killed in the bloody attack. “Work will stop across Lebanon and radio and TV networks should adjust their programs in a manner befitting of this tragedy for one hour starting from 2:00 pm today, Tuesday, January 3, 2017,” said a decree issued by Hariri. “Lebanese wherever they may be are also asked to observe five minutes of silence at 3:00 pm to condemn this heinous crime, express a comprehensive Lebanese stance against terror and terrorists, and show solidarity with the families of the martyrs and the wounded,” Hariri added. There has been widespread shock and mourning in Lebanon over the deaths of the three Lebanese killed.

Rita Shami was a 26-year-old student. Elias Wardini, also 26, was a personal trainer. Haykal Musallem was a 36-year-old physical trainer with the Tadamon Zouk basketball team whose wife managed to survive the attack. A convoy carrying the coffin of Mussallem had left Ashrafieh's Hotel Dieu de France hospital for his hometown al-Bireh in Chouf in the morning. The coffin Wardini was meanwhile taken from Ashrafieh's Saint George Hospital to a nearby church for the funeral. He was laid to rest at Ashrafieh's Mar Mitr cemetery. Wardini's body was carried through the streets of Ashrafieh to the sounds of traditional darbuka drums and trumpets.

At the district's Notre Dame church, his open casket was lifted over the heads of friends and family, beneath giant portraits reading "The Angel of Ashrafieh" and "The Groom of Ashrafieh". As is tradition in Lebanon for the death of young unmarried people, the funeral ceremony included the trappings of a wedding, with the church decorated in white flowers. His two older sisters collapsed several times during the ceremony, one them shouting at the body: "Get up! Why don't you answer me?" The night before a minute of silence had been observed for the three victims during a basketball match between Tadamon, where Musallem worked, and Beirut club La Sagesse, Wardini's favorite team. Portraits of the three victims hung over the stands.

The young woman Rita Shami will be buried on Thursday. The bodies of the victims and five of the wounded had arrived Monday evening in Beirut aboard a Middle East Airlines plane. Bushra Doueihi, the wounded daughter of Zgharta MP Estephan Doueihi, stayed in an Istanbul hospital due to her serious injuries and is expected to be transferred to Lebanon in the coming days.


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in the picture: Haykal Mousallem, Rita Chami & Elias Wardini


In the picture: Elias Wardini

In the picture: Haykal Mousallem

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In the picture taking the selfie: Rita Chami

by BEIRUT: Three Lebanese were killed and several others wounded in Sunday's midnight attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey. The family of 25-year-old Elias Wardini confirmed that the Lebanese national was dead, local Al Jadeed TV reported. "He threw himself in the Bosphorous waters, but he could have frozen to death after five minutes," Wardini's sister, Mirna, exclaimed while speaking to MTV earlier Sunday. "[Actor] Nadine Rasi called us and said that Elias is now with Jesus," Wardini's cousin had said as he pleaded with Lebanese officials to uncover his whereaoubts. After they received the news, the family did not give any further details as they were in shock. Wardini's sister could not speak to reporters at the family residence in Ashrafieh after she suffered from a nervous breakdown.

Wardini's fiance Melissa Papalardu had also been hurt in the shooting, LBCI said. LBCI reporter Bassam Abu Zeid said that Melissa had been hit by a bullet on her hand, and that she had undergone a minor surgery.Melissa is currently in stable condition, the reporter said.

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Image may contain: 1 person

Later Sunday evening, Rita Chami succumbed to the wounds she had sustained in the attack, Reuters quoted her family as saying. Rita Chami had previously been reported missing by her family after they lost contact with her. She is the daughter of the famous Lebanese businessman Elias Shami, according to a report by local MTV.

Haykal Mousallem, another Lebanese man, was confirmed dead a short while later, his family told Reuters. The Foreign Ministry issued a statement Sunday afternoon confirming that four Lebanese victims had been wounded, according to a preliminary tally.

Local LBCI TV said that the total number of Lebanese nationals hurt in the attack had risen to 13. LBCI added that the victims included Nidal Bsherrawi, Francois Asmar, Bouchra Doueihi, Nasser Beshara, and Melissa Papalordu.

However, LBCI did not provide the names of the remaining victims. Most of the bullets hit the victims in their hands and legs as they ducked under the seats for protection, the local channel said. Nidal Bsherrawi and Francois Asmar, were mildly wounded when a gunman went on a rampage at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul while it was packed with New Year's revelers, a Foreign Ministry statement announced. Only Nidal and Francois were identified by their full names in the ministry statement.

Bsherrawi's brother, Hassan, while speaking over the phone to LBCI, said that another Lebanese national whom he identified as Nasser Beshara had been wounded. The daughter of a Lebanese MP Estephan Dweihi, along with a man from the Haikal family, whose first names were not disclosed, were also slightly wounded in the attack, the ministry said.

MP Doueihi's daughter, Bouchra Doueihi, whom local Al Jadeed TV said was in stable condition, is allegedly undergoing a critical surgery, Hassan Bsherrawi added while speaking to LBCI. Bsherrawi and Asmar are expected to undergo minor surgical operations, Lebanese consul in Istanbul Hani Shmaiteli was quoted as saying by the NNA. Dr. Tony Elias, a tourist who had been celebrating in a nearby club, said to LBCI that he had perfomed Bouchra Doueihi's surgery. He confirmed that she was in a stable, though critical, condition. Elias described the shooting as frightening and a scene that seemed to be part of a war zone as bullets and grenades poured all over the place. He added that 80 Lebanese nationals had been in the club at the time of the attack.

Nasser Bechara

In the picture Nidal Bsherrawi

In the picture Francois Asmar

MTV reported that approximately 100 people out of the 700 people celebrating the new year in the club had been Lebanese nationals. 39 people were first announced dead following Sunday's attack, which Turkish officials have described as a terrorist act. The tally increased with the death of the Lebanese victims and another reported death of a Kuwaiti national. The Lebanese consul in Istanbul visited hospitals in Turkey, in order to follow up on the numbers and conditions of the Lebanese victims. Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil had called the Lebanese Consul Sunday morning, inquiring about the conditions of the Lebanese nationals wounded in the attack.

President Michel Aoun followed up on the conditions and treatment of the victims with Lebanese officials. MTV said that Lebanese officials had been informed that none of the Lebanese victims would be repatriated unless the investigations were concluded. During a phone call with LBCI, a Lebanese travel agent offered to fly any of the victims' family members to Turkey for free Monday. Later, Sunday afternoon, Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport Youssef Fenianos ordered that Middle East Airlines grant the families of the victims tickets onboard the flight departing for Istanbul Sunday evening, the NNA reported. The tickets to Istanbul Airport will be given to the families free of charge, it added.


By Al Arabiya: A source in Istanbul has confirmed that at least seven Saudi citizens were killed and nine others injured in the attack on Reina nightclub in Sunday's attack on Reina nightclub in Istanbul during New Year’s Eve festivities. One Kuwaiti was killed while five were injured, Al Arabiya's correspondent reported. Tunisian foreign ministry also announced that two of their citizens were among the killed while Lebanese authorities said as that five Lebanese have been injured during the same attack. Among those injured are Nidal Beshrawi, Nasser Bechara, Francois al-Asmar, in addition to the daughter of Member of Parliament Estephan El-Douaihy. Lebanon, Morocco and Jordan's foreign ministry confirmed that three of their citizens each were killed in the attack. Arab foreign ministries said that following the attack, they are following up on the situation of the injured with their representatives in Turkey. A gunman stormed the Reina club, one of Istanbul's most exclusive nightspots, and went on a shooting rampage inside, according to Turkish officials who said the dead included at least 15 foreigners.

At least 39 killed in attack on Istanbul nightclub

istanbul nightclub attack

by Zeynep Bilginsoy, Associated Press

ISTANBUL (AP) — An assailant opened fire at a crowded nightclub in Istanbul during New Year's celebrations, killing at least 39 people and wounding close to 70 others in what the province's governor described as a terror attack.

Gov. Vasip Sahin said the attacker, armed with a long-barreled weapon, killed a policeman and a civilian outside the club at around 1:15 a.m. Sunday before entering and firing on people partying inside. 

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the gunman was still on the run, adding: "efforts to find the terrorist are continuing."

"Our security forces have started the necessary operations," the minister said. "God willing he will be caught in a short period of time."

"Unfortunately (he) rained bullets in a very cruel and merciless way on innocent people who were there to celebrate New Year's and have fun," Sahin told reporters.

Police with riot gear and machine guns backed up by armored vehicles blocked the area close to the Reina nightclub, one of the most popular night spots in Istanbul. Several ambulances flashing blue lights arrived on the scene, some taking wounded to hospitals.

An estimated 600 people were celebrating inside the club that is also frequented by famous locals, including singers, actors and sports stars. A handful of WNBA players, including Essence Carson, Chelsea Gray and Jantel Lavender of the Los Angeles Sparks, were next door to the club when the shooting erupted.

 

'A truly inhuman savagery'

At least 15 of the dead were foreign nationals, Soylu said. Five of the victims were identified as Turkish nationals, and three or four of the Turkish victims may have been employees at the nightclub.

A 22-year-old police officer, Burak Yildiz, Yildiz, was shot and killed outside the nightclub. He had been on the force for 1½ years.

Private Dogan news agency reports that 47-year-old travel agent Ayhan Arik, a father of two, was another of the first victims of the early morning attack.  The news agency says the gunman shot Arik in the head outside the club.

At least 69 people were being treated in hospitals, four in serious condition. Lebanon's Foreign Ministry says three Lebanese citizens were wounded in the shooting, including the daughter of a member of parliament.

"This was a massacre, a truly inhuman savagery," Soylu said.

istanbul nightclub attack Ambulances line up on a road leading to a nightclub where a gun attack took place during a New Year party in Istanbul, Turkey, January 1, 2017. Ihlas News Agency/Ismail Coskun via Reuters

Private NTV news channel said the assailant entered the Reina nightclub, in Istanbul's Ortakoy district, dressed in a Santa Claus outfit. But Turkey's prime minister has denied those reports.

"There is no truth to this. He is an armed terrorist as we know it," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters.

The attacker was believed to have left the club wearing "different clothing" to those he entered the club in, however. He is believed to have carried out the assault alone.

"Four of the injured are in very serious condition," said Health Minister Recep Akdag. "There are several foreign nationals among the wounded."

Some customers jumped into the waters of the Bosporus to escape the attack, the report said.

Reina owner Mehmet Kocarslan, interviewed by the private Dogan news agency, said police had boosted security measures in the upscale neighborhood of Ortakoy and its vicinity.

The measures included tents at key locations with a 24-hour police presence and complementary efforts by the coast guard at sea.

"Despite all these precautions by police forces, unfortunately this painful event took place. We don't know what to say," he added. "We are at the point where all words end."

'I had to lift several bodies from top of me'

Sinem Uyanik was inside the club with her husband who was wounded in the attack.

"Before I could understand what was happening, my husband fell on top me," she said outside Istanbul's Sisli Etfal Hospital. "I had to lift several bodies from top of me before I could get out. It was frightening." Her husband was not in serious condition despite sustaining three wounds. 

The White House condemned what it called a "horrific terrorist attack" and offered U.S. help to Turkey.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz said President Barack Obama was briefed on the attack by his national security team and asked to be updated as the situation developed. Obama is vacationing in Hawaii this week with his family.

National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said the attack on "innocent revelers" celebrating New Year's shows the attackers' savagery.

"Our thoughts are with victims and their loved ones. We continue to work to prevent these tragedies," European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini tweeted. 


NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Twitter: "Tragic start to 2017 in Istanbul. My thoughts are with those affected by the attack on people celebrating New Year and with the Turkish people."

Turkey has been rocked by a series of deadly attacks in 2016 carried out by the Islamic State group or Kurdish militants, killing more than 180 people.

On Dec. 10, a double bomb attack outside soccer stadium — located near the Reina nightclub — killed 44 people and wounded 149 others. The attack was claimed by Turkey-based Kurdish militant group, the Kurdish Freedom Falcons. Nine days later, an off-duty Turkish riot policeman assassinated Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov at a photo exhibition in the capital, Ankara. The government has suggested that a movement led U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen was behind the killing — an accusation the cleric has denied.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag vowed that Turkey would press ahead with its fight against violent groups.

"Turkey will continue its determined and effective combat to root out terror," Bozdag said on Twitter.

Security measures had been heightened in major Turkish cities, with police barring traffic leading up to key squares in Istanbul and the capital Ankara. In Istanbul, 17,000 police officers were put on duty, some camouflaged as Santa Claus and others as street vendors, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported. 

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Associated Press writers Dusan Stojanovic and Mehmet Guzel in Istanbul and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey contributed to this report.