A “terror” attack on Istanbul, Capital city of Turkey on Sunday has left at least 35 people dead and 40 wounded.

It was learnt that gunmen disguising as Santa stormed an elite nightclub where citizens were celebrating the New Year.

Dogan news agency reports that two gunmen shot sporadically inside the Reina nightclub, one of the city’s most exclusive party spots.

“Unfortunately, at least 35 of our citizens lost their lives. One was a police officer. Forty people are receiving treatment in hospitals,” Vasip Sahin told reporters at the scene of the nightclub on the Bosphorus in the city’s European side.

“What happened today is a terror attack,” he added.

The news agency also said some witnesses confirmed that the attackers were speaking Arabic and special force police officers were still searching the nightclub.

According to Dogan, there were at least 700 revellers celebrating the start of 2017 at the club.