Turkey identifies Istanbul nightclub attacker
Turkish authorities have identified the gunman responsible for the attack on the Istanbul nightclub that left 39 people dead on New Year's Day, Turkey's foreign minister has said
Turkish police stand guard outside the Reina nightclub by the Bosphorus, which was attacked by a gunman (Photo: Reuters)
Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that the identity of the gunman who killed 39 people in an attack on an Istanbul nightclub on New Year's Day has been established.
The gunman, who fled after the attack, remains at large.
But speaking in a televised interview with the state-run Anadolu news agency on Wednesday, Cavusoglu did not identify the attacker and did not give any further details.
Anadolu has said some 20 people have been detained as part of the investigation into the shooting.
The attacker is reported to have been trained in street fighting by ISIS in residential areas in Syria and used these techniques in the attack, shooting from the hip rather than as a sniper.
The Islamic State on Monday claimed responsibility for the massacre, in what was the first time that it has clearly stated being behind a major attack in Turkey.
On Tuesday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said authorities were close to identifying the gunman after obtaining his fingerprints and a description of his appearance.
"Information about the fingerprints and basic appearance of the terrorist have been found. In the process after this, work to identify him swiftly will be carried out," Kurtulmus had told a news conference, adding that it was clear that Turkey's military incursion into Syria, launched in August, had annoyed armed groups and those behind them, but said the offensive would continue until all threats to Turkey were removed.
