Istanbul gunman had a background ‘street fighting’ in Syria for Islamic State
- Gunman’s seven minutes of terror
- Why Turkey is a magnet for terror
- Gunman’s creepy selfie video
- Search for Istanbul gunman continues
THE gunman who killed 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub had fought in Syria for Islamic State jihadists, local media report, as Turkish authorities continue 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.
Of the 39 dead, 27 were foreigners, mainly from Arab countries, with coffins repatriated overnight to countries including Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
The Islamic State group on Monday claimed the massacre, the first time it has clearly stated being behind a major attack in Turkey.
The government said Monday that eight people had been detained but media reports said the number had increased to 12 after new detentions in the Anatolian city of Konya.
The Dogan news agency said they included a woman suspected of being his wife but gave no further details.
The Hurriyet daily said the attacker showed signs of being well trained in the use of arms and had fought in Syria for IS 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.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday that the authorities had obtained fingerprint data about the gunman and expressed hope he would be “speedily” identified.
Selvi wrote that the priority now was to detain the assailant and neutralise the cell that apparently backed him, in order to prevent any new attack.
“This specially trained terrorist has still not been detained and is still wandering dangerously among us,” he wrote.
He said that an IS strike was also planned in Ankara on New Year’s night but that it had been prevented after eight IS suspects were arrested in the capital. There were no further details.
SUSPECT’S IMAGE RELEASED
Video footage has emerged of the prime suspect in the Istanbul nightclub terror attack after he slaughtered 39 New Year’s Eve partygoers.
The picture, released by the Turkish police and taken from Dogan News Agency, shows the main suspect who stormed into the Reina nightclub and opened fire at random.
The suspect is seen staring into his smartphone camera as he films himself in the popular meeting area of Taksim Square.
He is pictured wearing a black hooded puffer jacket as he walks around and smirks at the lens.
Jihad in Istanbul
By Robert Spencer – on January 1, 2017
The Mirror reported Sunday that the Muslim who “gunned down 39 people and injured 69 with a machine gun in an Istanbul nightclub ‘screamed Allahu Akbar’ during massacre – an eye-witness has revealed.” And so once again we see the universal hallmark of jihad terror attacks, the assertion that Islam is superior, that Allah is greater than all the gods, and all the political systems, of the infidels. Nonetheless, the response from non-Muslim leaders has been drearily predictable.
