Authorities in Turkey will not allow New Year celebrations at Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square for security reasons.
Local police chief of Istanbul’s Beyoglu district, Ismail Kilic, said security measures had been doubled this year following a string of attacks over the past two years.
He was quoted as saying by state-run news agency Anadolu, “Measures for New Year will be at the highest level,”
“We will double the measures because the Reina assailant changed his location having seen the measures at Taksim,”
Turkey has suffered a series of terror attacks attributed to Kurdish militants and the Islamic State group, including a shooting at popular Istanbul nightclub Reina during a New Year 2016-17 party in which 39 people were killed.
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