ISTANBUL:

The main suspect in a New Year’s Day shooting which killed 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub two years ago denied the charges against him in court on Monday, Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.

Abdulkadir Masharipov, an Uzbek national, was captured on Jan 17, 2017 by police who said he acted on behalf of Islamic State. The jihadist group claimed credit for the attack, saying it was revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria.