Turkey nightclub shooter identified; manhunt continues for suspect

The identity of the shooter who opened fire at party-goers at Turkey’s famous nightclub, killing 39 people, has been established.

According to the Turkish foreign minister, the identity of the attacker has been determined and a manhunt for him still continues throughout the country.

“The identity of the person carrying out the attack in Ortakoy has been determined,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a televised interview with the state-run Anadolu news agency. He gave no details.

Further details have revealed that a gunman entered Istanbul’s famous nightclub called Reina on New Year’s Eve, shortly after the clock struck 1 am, and opened fire on the revelers there. He first shot dead a policeman and a civilian at the entrance of the club and then opened indiscriminate fire at the people inside with an automatic rifle. The gunman reloaded the rifle six times and shot the wounded as they lay on the ground. After killing multiple people, the gunman fled and since then he has been on the run.

The militant group called Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it was in retaliation to Turkey’s military involvement in Syria.

The gunman’s tactics showed that he was well versed in guerilla warfare and may have been trained in Syria. Investigations also revealed that the gunman entered Turkey from Syria and went to the central city of Konya in November. He remained there with his wife and two kids in order to appear like a normal citizen.

So far 14 people have been detained over the attack for investigations.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=54339

Posted by fatimaarshad on Jan 4 2017. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.