Turkish police capture nightclub attacker – reports

Abdulkadir Masharipov said caught two weeks after allegedly killing 39, including an Israeli woman, in Istanbul

This hand out picture released by the Turkish police and taken from Dogan News Agency on January 2, 2017 shows the main suspect in the Reina nightclub rampage one day after a gunman killed 39 people, including many foreigners, in an attack at an upmarket nightclub in Istanbul where revellers were celebrating the New Year.  AFP/Dogan News Agency / Handout)
This hand out picture released by the Turkish police and taken from Dogan News Agency on January 2, 2017 shows the main suspect in the Reina nightclub rampage one day after a gunman killed 39 people, including many foreigners, in an attack at an upmarket nightclub in Istanbul where revellers were celebrating the New Year. AFP/Dogan News Agency / Handout)

A man who is thought to have carried out a deadly attack on a nightclub in Istanbul on New Year’s Eve was arrested Monday by police, according to Turkish reports.

The suspect, named a week ago as Abdulkadir Masharipov, was captured in the Esenyurt district of Istanbul, according to Turkey’s Hurriyet News. He was reportedly with his young son at the time of his arrest.

The killer slipped into the night after killing 27 foreigners and 12 Turkish nationals at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul just 75 minutes into 2017.

Lian Zaher Nasser, 19 from Tira in central Israel was one of those killed in the club, where she was celebrating the New Year with friends.

Hurriyet tweeted what it said was a picture of Masharipov in custody:

There had been confusion over the identity of the attacker, with reports initially suggesting a Kyrgyz national and then a Uighur from China. But intelligence services and anti-terror police in Istanbul finally identified the man as a 34-year-old Uzbek who is part of a Central Asian IS cell, the Hurriyet daily and other Turkish newspapers reported.

It said he has the code name of Ebu Muhammed Horasani within the Islamic State extremist group.

There was no immediate official confirmation of his arrest.

Lian Zaher Nasser of Tira, killed in a shooting attack at an Istanbul nightclub on January 1, 2017. (Courtesy)
Lian Zaher Nasser of Tira, killed in a shooting attack at an Istanbul nightclub on January 1, 2017. (Courtesy)

AFP contributed to this report.

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