Istanbul: Police have captured the suspected gunman responsible for the killing 39 people in an Istanbul nightclub on New Year`s Day in the city`s Esenyurt district, the media reported on Tuesday.
As per the media reports, the police were quoted as saying that the man had operated under the cover name Abu Muhammed Horasani and was caught in a hideout with his four-year-old son, Hurriyet said. However, the reports could not be confirmed immediately.
Dozens of people have previously been detained in connection with the attack for which Islamic State has claimed responsibility, saying it was revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria.
On Jan. 1, the suspect made his way into the Reina nightclub and opened fire with an automatic rifle, reloading his weapon half a dozen times and shooting the wounded as they lay on the ground.
Among those killed during the terror attack were nationals from Turkey, Arab nations, India and Canada.
Horasani was described as being of Uzbek origin by the a website, which said he was caught at a housing complex in Esenyurt district, on the European side of the city. It further added that there were three people in the apartment where he was caught, the home of a Kyrgyz friend of his to which he had gone three days earlier.
According to a state-run news agency, five people were detained in the operation, including the alleged perpetrator, a man of Kyrgyz origin and three women. It said simultaneous raids were being conducted on other cells linked to the group.
President Tayyip Erdogan has said the attack, which targeted a club popular with local celebrities and moneyed foreigners, had been being exploited to try to divide the largely Sunni Muslim nation.
