Turkish police on Monday (January 16) captured and arrested the suspected terrorist who gunned down 39 people on New Year's night at a nightclub in Istanbul, the country's largest city, the country's media said. The suspect, Abdulgadir Masharipov, was caught from a residential area in Esenyurt district of the city during a massive police raid, Turkey's state-run TRT television reported. His four-year-old son was there along with him.
Istanbul: Selfie video emerges of alleged attacker at Reina nightclub
The Islamic State (IS), which has been accused of carrying out multiple suicide attacks in Turkey, had claimed responsibility for the strike at the Reina nightclub in Ortaköy neighbourhood of Istanbul's Beşiktaş district around 01:15 FET on January 1 when several were celebrating. Many people were also injured in the attack besides the deaths. The suspect had been hiding for over two weeks after the massacre. Earlier reports said he could not leave the city as the security officials had tightened the borders to prevent him from fleeing the country.
Turkish media said the operation during which the suspect was caught was being carried out by the police along with the country's spy agency MIT. A picture of the alleged assailant was published by the media with blood on his face and T-shirt as he was being led by police officers.
Masharipov was initially reported to be a Kyrgyz national but later, he was claimed to be a Uighur from China. Local reports, however, said that the man was identified by intelligence and anti-terror officials as a 34-year-old Uzbek who worked for a central Asian cell of the IS.
