Police announced Wednesday that new year celebrations at Taksim Square, in the heart of Istanbul, will not be allowed this year for security reasons.

İsmail Kılıç, Beyoğlu district police chief, where the square is located, said all streets to the square would be blocked off and measures are in place after a New Year's Eve attack that killed 39 people in 2016.

The Daesh militant, who carried out attacks, had scouted the square for the attack before changing his location to a popular nightclub.