Turkish authorities investigate ISIS involvement in Istanbul nightclub attack

ISLAMIC State last have claimed responsibility for the Istanbul nightclub attack, releasing a statement in which it said the attack was carried out by one of its “heroic soldiers.’’

“In continuation of the blessed operations that Islamic State is conducting against the protector of the cross, Turkey, a heroic soldier of the caliphate struck one of the most famous nightclubs where the Christians celebrate their apostate holiday,’’ the group said.

The gunman fired up to 180 bullets, Turkish media report.

It’s understood he arrived by taxi before rushing through the entrance with a long-barelled gun he’d taken from the boot of the car.

Hurriyet and Karar newspaper reports on Monday cited unnamed security officials saying that authorities have determined that the gunman who killed 39 people comes from a Central Asian nation and is believed to be either from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan.

Police had also established similarities with the high-casualty attack at Ataturk Airport in June and was investigating whether the same IS cell carried out both attacks.

The gunman, who is still at large, killed a policeman and another man outside the Reina club in the early hours of 2017 before firing at people partying inside.

Nearly two-thirds of the dead were foreigners, many from the Middle East.

PRIME SUSPECT’S IMAGE RELEASED

The unnamed man in the reported photo, cited by media outlets including CNN Turk, was originally described as being from East Turkestan, Afghanistan or Chechnya and Turkish intelligence services reportedly believe that he is a member of the East Turkestan branch of ISIS.

The reported photograph of him comes after photos emerged in Turkish media of Istanbul resident Naim Sadakat. He has since posted a selfie to Facebook from inside the Zeytinburnu police station on January 1 to prove his innocence.

Sadakat indicated in the post that he had just given his statement at the station in a further attempt to disassociate himself from the incident.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and while media reports suggest there may have been more than one attacker, police are focusing their search on one gunman.

US authorities have also refuted claims that they had intelligence of a possible planned terror attack on Istanbul’s Reina nightclub.

A statement from the US Embassy in Ankara was issued after reports from Turkey alleged US officials were aware about threats to “specific entertainment venues”.

“‎Contrary to rumours circulating in social media, the US Government had no information about threats to specific entertainment venues, including the Reina Club,” the statement read.

WITNESSES DESCRIBE THE HORROR

A friend of one of the victims has revealed how she survived the terror attack.

Dr Ayia Ihsan Abd al-Hay was friends with Lian Zaher Nasser, 19, who was killed in the nightclub.

Dr al-Hay, a dentist, was one of a group of four Israeli women who were in the club.

She told Israel’s Channel 2 News in Istanbul that Nasser worked for her as a dental technician.

She said the gunman “shouted Allahu Akbar” as he opened fire. She said she couldn’t identify his accent.

“At first we thought a fight had broken out,” she said.

She went on. “Somebody shouted to us to get on the floor … I stayed down; there were dead people in front of me and behind me. I crawled into the kitchen,” she said, and hid near a fridge.

The gunfire continued for several minutes, she said.

“We kept at silent as we could, so they wouldn’t find us. They were searching all the time.”