The friends and colleagues of a Canadian woman killed in a terrorist attack at an Istanbul nightclub are reacting to the news of her death.
Alaa Al-Muhandis, of Milton, Ont., was among 39 people who died in the mass shooting on New Year's Eve, her family confirmed to Â鶹´«Ã½.
The 29-year-old mother of two frequently helped out at her family's car dealership, Looloo Auto Sales, in Milton, Ont. A family friend and colleague, Ahmed Atrakchi, says that Al-Muhandis' husband owned the business and that he had known her for 10 years.
"It's a great loss for everybody and everybody's trying to cope with it," Atrakchi told CTV Toronto on Tuesday. "She was a great person, always happy, always a big smile on her face. She will forever be loved and remembered."
Atrakchi also said that Al-Muhandis was "a great mom" to her three-year-old and seven-year-old children.
Another family friend and employee of Looloo Auto Sales, Nathan Fadel, told CTV Toronto that Al-Muhandis was an integral part of the family business and a "kind and loving soul."
"Her loss will be forever felt within my soul. Her memory, in every life she touched," Fadel said. "We're all in shock and are working to cope with this tragedy."
Ghada Saad, a friend of Al-Muhandis, told The Canadian Press on Monday that the mother of two had recently started her own event planning business called Looloo's Arrangements. Saad said she first met Al-Muhandis two years ago when she was hired to help organize a baby shower for her youngest son.
"She was a very, very nice girl, full of life and always so stylish," Saad said. "She was like my little sister."
CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney reported that Al-Muhandis had been visiting a sick friend in the Middle East for a couple of months. He said she and a group of friends had gone to the Reina nightclub in Istanbul to celebrate New Year's Eve.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack. Turkish media reports suggest the gunman was either from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan. The lone suspect remains at large.
"We mourn with the people of Turkey today and with all countries who lost citizens in this vicious attack," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.
"We also grieve the senseless loss of a Canadian citizen and remain steadfast in our determination to work with allies and partners to fight terrorism and hold perpetrators to account."
The nightclub was packed with about 600 people ringing in the new year, many of them tourists.
Including Al-Muhandis, 38 of the victims have been identified. Eleven of those killed were Turkish nationals, one had Turkish-Belgian dual citizenship, seven came from Saudi Arabia, three from Lebanon, another three from Iraq, two each from Tunisia, India, Morocco and Jordan, and one each from Kuwait, Israel, Syria and Russia.
With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
