Then four days later on Thursday, militants detonated an explosives-packed car in front of the main courthouse in the western city of Izmir and engaged in gun battles with police. A policeman and a court worker were killed, as well as two attackers. Another was still on the run. Nine people were wounded but their lives are not believed to be in danger. Whereas Islamic State (IS) jihadists had claimed the Istanbul night-club attack - the group's first ever claim of a major attack in Turkey - the government blamed the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for the Izmir bloodshed.
Turkish officials led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the heroism of slain Izmir policeman Fethi Sekin, who prevented even greater loss of life by stopping the car and then seeking to chase down the militants. "Did you not see yesterday in Izmir our police officer who jumped like a lion to neutralise the terrorist and was martyred?" Erdogan asked during a rally Friday in Sanliurfa, south-eastern Turkey.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim paid tribute late Thursday to the officer who "prevented a greater disaster by ignoring his own life and by giving his life." Turkish football team Galatasaray, which Sekin supported, said it would offer an educational scholarship to his son and other opportunities at the club. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, who attended the ceremony, said 18 people were detained in connection with the Izmir blast and the identity established of the "terrorists", whom he said had planned to wreak havoc inside the court.
Police seized two Kalashnikovs, seven rockets and eight grenades, which Erdogan said proved they had come to commit a "massive massacre". Thousands applauded in emotional scenes as Sekin's coffin was brought out of the Izmir courthouse before being given the rare honour of a funeral ceremony in the city's famous Konak Square. His body was then to be taken to his home region of Elazig in the east for burial.
The PKK - proscribed as a terror organisation by Ankara, the United States and European Union - has been waging an insurgency against Turkey since 1984. Erdogan said there were people "nourishing, arming, strengthening and directing" groups including the PKK without elaborating further. The usually peaceful port city of Izmir, Turkey's third largest metropolis, is the gateway to the plush beach resorts of the Aegean and rarely sees violence on this scale. It is well west of the PKK's main theatre in south-eastern Turkey. Yildirim urged Turks to continue their lives as normal, despite the shattering start to the New Year.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017