Main Suspect In New Year's Eve Attack On Nightclub In Istanbul Captured

The main suspect in the New Year’s Eve attack on a nightclub in Istanbul has been captured, according to Turkish media.

Abdulkadir Masharipov, an Uzbek national who is believed to have carried out the attack, was reportedly arrested in a police raid in the Esenyurt district of the Turkish capital late on Monday.

The brutal attack by a lone gunman at the Reina nightclub killed 39 people and left dozens more injured.

The gunman fled the nightclub after carrying out the attack, and police in Turkey have been hunting him for more than two weeks.

Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported the suspect was to undergo medical checks before being taken to police headquarters for questioning.

Police also arrested four others, according to reports.

A photo being circulated on Turkish media shows what appears to be Masharipov bloodied and bruised and being held by the neck.

Following the attack, he is believed to have initially hid in a safe house with his wife and two children.

Police finally arrested him at the home of a friend from Kyrgyzstan, where he was found with his four-year-old son, according to local media reports.

He reportedly arrived in Istanbul on December 15.

Victims of the attack included citizens of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, France, Tunisia, India, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria, Belgium, Germany and Russia.

Islamic State claimed responsibility, which it said was revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria.

The attacker shot dead a police officer and a civilian at the entrance to the the nightclub at about 1.15am before opening fire with an automatic rifle inside, reloading his weapon half a dozen times and shooting the wounded as they lay on the ground.

Dozens of people across Turkey have been arrested and questioned in connection with the shooting in the last two weeks.

Earlier on Monday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said the Reina nightclub attack had been carried out professionally with the help of an intelligence organisation, a claim he had made in the first days after the attack.

He did not name the organisation suspected of being involved. (ES)