Turkey nightclub attack: Manhunt for gunman intensifies
Media captionFootage shows the attacker pointing his gun as
he approaches the Reina nightclub
Turkish police have launched raids in Istanbul and
arrested 12 people, as the hunt for an attacker who killed 39 people in a
nightclub intensifies.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said authorities had
fingerprints and a basic description, and vowed to "speedily"
identify the suspect.
Some 600 revellers were in the Reina nightclub early on
Sunday when the gunman attacked.
So-called Islamic State said it was behind the attack.
Mr Kurtulmus told reporters: "Information about the
fingerprints and basic appearance of the terrorist have been found.
"The next step will be to try to identify him as
quickly as we can. We hope we will not only find the terrorist but also his
connections and those people who gave him support inside and outside the
club," he said.
Image copyrightREUTERS/AFPImage captionImages released by
Turkish police of the man suspected of carrying out the attack
Image captionAn undated image released by anti-terror police
Mr Kurtulmus confirmed eight arrests. Later in the evening
special forces police backed by a helicopter launched an operation on a house
in the Zeytinburnu district following a tip.
The attacker was not found. Four more arrests have been made
elsewhere.
Turkish police also released new images said to be of the
suspect, but without giving any more information about the time or location.
Turkish media also showed video purported to be of the
suspect at an unidentified date and location where he is seen handing over
identification documents to an official behind a glass window. The video cannot
be independently verified.
Turkish media reports quote police sources as saying he may
have been from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan.
Image copyrightEPAImage captionThe bodies of three Lebanese
victims arrive at Beirut airport
Image copyrightAPImage captionHundreds mourn Turkish victim
Yunus Gormek at his funeral in Istanbul
Police are investigating whether the suspect belongs to an
IS cell blamed for an attack in June on Ataturk airport in Istanbul.
Mr Kurtulmus said the nightclub attack was a
"message" against Turkey's operations in Syria but that they would
not be affected.
Turkey launched a military operation in August aimed at
pushing back IS and Kurdish forces, with some of the most intensive recent
fighting against IS around the northern town of al-Bab.
IS said in a statement that the attack was carried out by
"a heroic soldier".
It accused Turkey of shedding the blood of Muslims through
"its air strikes and mortar attacks" in Syria.
Although IS has been linked to other attacks in Turkey, it
has not claimed responsibility before.
'Shooting randomly'
Early on Sunday, the gunman arrived at the club by taxi
before rushing through the entrance with a long-barrelled gun he had taken from
the boot of the car.
Media caption"I was thinking... we are going to die in
the bathroom" - attack survivor Tuvana Tugsavult
The attacker fired randomly at people in an assault lasting
seven minutes, starting with a security guard and a travel agent near the
entrance. Both were killed.
The gunman is reported to have changed clothes before
fleeing the chaos.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionThe Brandenburg Gate in
Berlin is lit up in remembrance
Some two-thirds of those killed were foreign, according to
local media, among them citizens from Israel, Russia, France, Tunisia, Lebanon,
India, Belgium, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Victims by nationality
- Turkey:
11
- Saudi
Arabia: 7
- Iraq:
3
- Lebanon:
3
- Jordan,
India, Morocco: two nationals from each country
- Germany,
Syria, Israel, France-Tunisia, Tunisia, Belgium, Kuwait, Canada, Russia:
one national from each country
The body of one of those who died has yet to be identified.
At least 69 people are being treated in hospital, officials
said, with three in a serious condition.
Media captionBullets are seen being fired by the gunman -
and flying off passing cars
Barman Mehmet Yilan, 36, said the gunman "stormed in
and immediately headed for the people to the left, which is always more
crowded... he seemed to know where to go.
"He was shooting randomly but aiming for their upper
bodies. He didn't want to just injure them."
The nightclub, which sits on the banks of the Bosphorus, is
one of Istanbul's most fashionable venues - popular with foreigners and often
frequented by singers and sports stars.
Deadly attacks in Turkey in 2016
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionScene of explosion
in Ankara's central Kizilay district on 13 March
Istanbul was already on high alert with some 17,000 police
officers on duty in the city, following a string of terror attacks in recent
months.
10 December: Twin bomb attack outside a football
stadium in Istanbul kills 44 people, Kurdish militant group claims
responsibility
20 August: Bomb attack on wedding party in
Gaziantep kills at least 30 people, IS suspected
30 July: 35 Kurdish fighters try to storm a
military base and are killed by the Turkish army
28 June: A gun and bomb attack on Ataturk
airport in Istanbul kills 41 people, in an attack blamed on IS militants
13 March: 37 people are killed by Kurdish
militants in a suicide car bombing in Ankara
17 February: 28 people die in an attack on a
military convoy in Ankara
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