Eight people detained over New Year attack in Turkey

As the year drew to a close, people around the world expressed feelings of hope, excited to bid farewell to the tumultuous year that was.

Which only adds to the terror that resulted from an attack carried out on an Istanbul night club on January 1, where a man attempted to gun down 600 people, resulting in 39 deaths and over 60 injuries.

Since Sunday, Turkish authorities have detained eight people from towns two hours south of the club suspected to have links to the attack.

While they believe that the gunman is not amongst them, they have said that they are close to identifying the man responsible for the attack using fingerprints and grainy black and white images from security footage, reports the ABC.

The Islamic State (IS) militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus says was a response to Turkey’s increased involvement in Syria against IS.

But the country’s authorities have no intentions of giving in to the fear.

“Wherever they may hide in 2017, we will enter their lair … With the will of God, with the support of our people, with all our national capacity, we will bring them to their knees and give them all the necessary response,” Mr Kurtulmus said.

Greek officials have extended their solidarity to Turkey in its time of need, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras taking to social media to condemn the attack.

“Sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the heinous terrorist attack in Istanbul. The Greek people stand in solidarity to the people of Turkey in these difficult times. We must increase our cooperation so that 2017 is a year of peace and security,” Mr Tsipras tweeted.

A statement was also released by the Greek Foreign Ministry sharing the PM’s sentiment.

“We unequivocally condemn the barbaric terrorist attack with numerous casualties that occurred in the nightclub in Istanbul,” the Ministry said.

“We express our full solidarity with the Turkish people and convey heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wishes of a speedy recovery to the injured.”