Turkey suspect fought for ISIS

Istanbul, Jan. 3: The gunman who killed 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub had fought in Syria for Islamic State jihadists, a report said on Tuesday, as Turkish authorities intensified their hunt for the attacker.

Police released pictures of the suspect who went on the rampage at the plush Reina nightclub on New Year’s night, spraying some 120 bullets at terrified guests before slipping away into the night.

According to the Daily Mail Online Iakhe Mashrapov, a 28-year-old from Kyrgyzstan, is the suspect Turkey police are looking for.

It said the suspect’s wife claimed she had “no idea” her husband was an ISIS sympathiser.

Earlier, the Turkish police had reportedly released a statement made by the wife, who said she only found out about the atrocity when reports emerged on television.

The suspect boarded a plane in Kyrgyzstan with his wife and children and it landed in Istanbul on November 20 last year, the Mail reported.

She said on December 29, her husband left Konya in central Turkey to travel by road to Istanbul. She only learned about the shooting when she saw it on the television, she claimed.

When police released pictures of the suspect, his neighbours in Konya called a police hotline and identified him, leading investigators to the family home, police said.

The Islamic State group on Monday claimed the massacre, the first time it has clearly stated being behind a major attack in Turkey.

The Hurriyet daily said the attacker showed signs of being well trained in the use of arms and had fought in Syria for ISIS jihadists.

Hurriyet’s well-connected columnist Abdulkadir Selvi said the attacker had been identified, with investigators focusing on the idea he was from Central Asia.

Selvi said he had been trained in street fighting in residential areas in Syria and used these techniques in the attack, shooting from the hip rather than as a sniper.

The attacker had been “specially selected” to carry out the shooting, he said. According to Hurriyet, just 28 bullets failed to hit a target.

Meanwhile, Turkish authorities detained two foreign nationals at Istanbul’s main airport over suspected links to the attack, Dogan news agency said.

The government had earlier said eight people had been detained but the number then increased to 14.