Istanbul Attack: Police Release Suspect Photo

Local Editor

Turkish police had released grainy photograph of a male suspect they would like to question in relation to the attack at an Istanbul nightclub in the early hours of New Year's Day.

According to the state-run Anadolu news agency on Monday, the pictures were taken from security camera footage at an unannounced time.

Turkish media outlet Haberturk also broadcasted footage of what it claimed was of the attacker.

The selfie video allegedly shows the suspect, filming himself around Istanbul's Taksim square. Authorities do not know when or why the footage was recorded.

The attacker, who shot dead 39 people and injured 70 more, is still on the run and there is a very real fear he could strike again.

Police had not released any further details about the man's identity, only the pixelated photo of the man they believe is responsible.

So far, police had arrested eight people over suspected links to the New Year gun massacre. Police also raided a house in Istanbul's Zeytinburnu district late on Monday in connection with the attack.

Eyewitnesses said the attacker spoke in Arabic, shifting suspicion away from Kurdish militants... and onto Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"].

Outside the Reina nightclub, CCTV showed a gunman firing shots outside the nightclub - a policeman and nightclub doormen were killed.

And inside the gunman is captured on cameras walking through the carnage after spraying the packed room with bullets.

The Reina nightclub - one of Istanbul's most exclusive, popular with expats and tourists sits on the banks on the river Bosporus - in desperation last night people jumped in the water to escape.

Turkey's Prime Minister had denied that the Istanbul nightclub gunman wore a Father Christmas outfit during the attack.

"There is no truth to this. He is an armed terrorist as we know," Binali Yildirim said on Sunday.

"He left his gun at the crime scene and fled, taking advantage of the chaos. Police forces are working on the case.

The Prime Minister visited one of ten hospitals caring for the injured.

While some of the people who died are still to be identified - most of them are said to be foreign nationals.

Earlier in the day, the Takfiri Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"] terrorist group claimed responsibility for the rampage.

Turkey came under many attacks over the past year, claimed by Kurdish militants and the Daesh Takfiri terror group, which operates in neighboring Syria and Iraq.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team