Main suspect in Reina nightclub massacre in Istanbul arrested
Turkish media reports that the main suspect in Istanbul’s New Year’s Eve massacre has been arrested.
Abdulkadir Masharipov is believed to have been the attacker at the Reina nightclub that left 39 people dead.
The Uzbek citizen was apparently arrested in Istanbul’s Esenyurt neighborhood.
Citizens of Israel, France, Tunisia, Lebanon, India, Belgium, Jordan and Saudi Arabia were among the victims of the attack. Dozens more were wounded.
A group calling itself the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliation for Turkey’s military intervention in Syria.
The armed gunman arrived at the scene by taxi after midnight on Saturday and then entered through the main entrance of the nightclub carrying a rifle he had retrieved from a car trunk.
He opened fire indiscriminately at those present.
Turkish NTV channel reports that police arrested the suspect at the home of his friend, who is a Kyrgyz national, in Istanbul.
According to reports, police found the suspect along with his 4-year-old son in the house. The owner of the house and three women are also said to be among those arrested.
According to the Hurriyet newspaper, the suspect was to be placed under medical supervision before interrogation began.
Police released a photo of a man in a blood-stained T-shirt with wounds on his face.
Mark Lowen, BBC correspondent in Istanbul: A sigh of relief
This arrest was the culmination of an extensive manhunt operation: a raid in Istanbul’s Esenyurt neighborhood that ultimately led to the arrest of the alleged attacker at Reina.
There were concerns that the attacker had managed to flee Turkey and possibly had gone to an ISIS-controlled area.
With his arrest, Turkish authorities will have heaved a great sigh of relief. However, the much bigger challenge for them will be ensuring security in the country and intensifying intelligence operations to prevent a wave of terrorist attacks that has gripped this nation.
Turkish media reports that the suspect lived with a woman who was apparently his wife and two children in a rented apartment in the city of Konya.
Hurriyet newspaper, citing informed sources, wrote that he had entered Istanbul on December 15.
Turkey has been engaged in operations against ISIS in northern Syria while simultaneously trying to force the Kurds to withdraw from the region.
Reina nightclub was one of the most famous in Istanbul and overlooked the Bosphorus Strait.
The nightclub attracted singers, film and television actors, sports stars as well as foreign tourists.
Attacks attributed to ISIS in Turkey
August 20, 2016: A bombing at a wedding celebration in Gaziantep killed at least 30 people
June 28, 2016: A bombing and armed attack at Atatürk airport in Istanbul left 41 dead
March 19, 2016: A suicide bombing killed 4 people on a busy shopping street in Istanbul
January 12, 2015: 12 Germans were killed in an ISIS bombing in a tourist area in Istanbul
October 10, 2015: Over 100 people were killed in a peace march in front of Ankara train station
July 20, 2015: 34 people were killed in a bombing in Suruc near the Syrian border.
Source: BBC
