Istanbul New Year club attacker held

Istanbul: A 34-year-old Uzbek man suspected of slaughtering 39 people at an Istanbul nightclub on New Year’s eve confessed to the massacre on Tuesday, hours after his capture in a police raid.

Authorities detained Abdulgadir Masharipov, who spent 17 days on the run after the attack claimed by Islamic State (IS) jihadists, along with three women and an Iraqi man during a massive police operation in Istanbul.

“The terrorist confessed his crime,” Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin told reporters, saying the suspect’s fingerprints matched those of the attacker and confirming he is an Uzbek national.

“He was trained in Afghanistan and can speak four languages. He’s a well-trained terrorist,” added the governor, saying Masharipov is believed to have first entered Turkey in January 2016. Police also confiscated $197,000, two firearms and clips during the raid on an apartment, he added.