A breaking news story on the morning of December 29 last year caused nationwide horror in Turkey: An eight-hour gunfight ensued in the city of Yalova during a raid on a house where operatives from "Islamic State's" Khorasan Province, or ISKP, group were hiding. ISKP is an offshoot of the extremist "Islamic State" group,

Three police officers were killed while eight others and a security guard were injured, some critically. According to the Turkish Interior Ministry, the officers had been following up on concrete leads that the extremist group was planning to carry out attacks on large New Year's Eve celebrations across the country.