In the first hours of 2017, an Islamic State (IS) militant attacked the Reina nightclub in one of Istanbul's most upscale neighborhoods. One man with an AK-47 and six magazines managed to hit over a hundred people in about seven to eight minutes, according to the initial police reports. Stun grenades were also used in the attack that killed 39 people from 14 different countries and wounded 71.

The terrorist is still on the loose at the time of this writing. The Turkish government has carried out several security operations in Istanbul and other cities in the last four days, and time is not on its side. On Dec. 5, Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak told the press that he could not rule out the possibility that the suspect may have escaped abroad already. He explained that the security forces have established the perpetrator's connections in Turkey, and that he is an ethnic Uighur.

In the last five days since the attack, a lot of conflicting information has circulated in the media, including multiple images of the suspect. TV channels and newspapers have been circulating a self-made video of the terrorist, while keeping his real name a secret. His alias was published as Abu Mohammed Khorasani, a name as common as John Smith. However, the images prompted angry mobs to attack an illegal immigrant from Turkmenistan who resembles the perpetrator.

Differing accounts of the attack have left observers wondering how well the investigation is going. Multiple eyewitnesses have told the press that they thought there was more than one attacker, and one was even alleged to be female. Turkish authorities told Al-Monitor that all the shell casings were from a single gun, and that the survivors must have been confused by shock and trauma.