Updated January 03, 2017 21:59:58
Turkish authorities believe they are closing in on the gunman who killed 39 people celebrating the New Year at an Istanbul nightclub.
According to local media, the gunman has been identified and is thought to be from a Central Asian country.
Reports suggest he came to Turkey in November last year with his wife and two children in order not to attract attention, and his family have now been detained.
Turkish media, including the state-run Anadolu Agency, have run a video which shows a man, who they said was the gunman, filming himself with a cell phone at Taksim Square.
It was not immediately clear if it was filmed before or after the New Year's massacre but several media outlets claimed to have received the clip from the police.
However, the press office of the Istanbul police denied being the source of the footage.
Police in Istanbul earlier released security camera pictures of the suspect and said they had obtained fingerprints from the gun left behind at the club.
The Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for the attack and praised the gunman, who they called "a heroic soldier".
Yesterday eight people were detained in connection to the attack but police stressed the gunman was not one of them.
Earlier, Turkish media reports said that Turkish authorities believed the gunman was likely to be from either from Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan.
Turkey tells IS they will 'enter their lair'
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said it was hoped not only the gunman would be discovered but also "his connections and those who gave him support inside and outside the club".
Mr Kurtulmus said the attack on the crowd of 600 at the Reina club in the early hours of 2017 was a message from extremist organisations that they intend to continue to be a "scourge" against Turkey in the new year.
He also said it was intended as a response to Turkey's "successful and determined" military operation against IS in Syria.
"Wherever they may hide in 2017, we will enter their lair... With the will of God, with the support of our people, with all our national capacity, we will bring them to their knees and give them all the necessary response," he said.
The Prime Minister's office has imposed a temporary blackout on coverage of the attack, citing public order and national security reasons.
Nearly two-thirds of the dead in the upscale club, which is frequented by local celebrities, were foreigners, Turkey's Anadolu Agency said.
Many of them hailed from the Middle East.
United States isn't doing anything
'Turkey is the only country leading a fight' against IS
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has slammed the Obama administration for backing Syrian Kurdish forces which Turkey considers to be terrorists, and urged President-elect Donald Trump to put an end to "this shame".
Mr Yildirim said Turkey's military had killed more than 1,200 IS militants since the start of its military incursion into northern Syria in August, insisting that Turkey was the country leading the most effective fight against the extremist group.
"They are pretending to fight Daesh. Turkey is the only country that is leading a fight. The United States isn't doing anything," Mr Yildirim said while addressing Parliament.
This week Turkey's Parliament will debate and then vote on extending emergency rule by a further three months.
Emergency rule, imposed in Turkey following the attempted coup on July 15, enables the Government to bypass Parliament in enacting new laws and to limit or suspend rights and freedoms as they deem necessary.
AP/ABC
First posted January 03, 2017 20:33:54
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