ISIS Claim Responsibility For Slaughter Of 39 Clubbers In Turkish Nightclub Saying 'Heroic soldier' Carried Out Attack

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the devastating gun attack on an Istanbul nightclub which killed 39 people.

In a statement released this morning, the group said a 'heroic soldier' had attacked the club.

It read: "In continuation of the blessed operations that Islamic State is conducting against the protector of the cross, Turkey, a heroic soldier of the caliphate struck one of the most famous nightclubs where the Christians celebrate their apostate holiday," the statement said.

A picture of the prime suspect police are hunting after the gunman 'screamed Allahu Akbar' before opening fire in a Turkish nightclub was released last night.

The suspect is a member of the East Turkestan branch of ISIS, according to Turkish media reports.

Turkish intelligence forces are said to be closing in on the unnamed suspect who shot at revellers celebrating the New Year inside Reina nightclub.

The man is described as being from East Turkestan, Afghanistan or Chechnya, but authorities still do not know his name or precise nationality.

Some have blamed the attack on Islamic State and others said Kurdish militants were involved, but as yet, no one has claimed responsibility.

Istanbul nightclub gun man storms venue firing AK47 The leader of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has denied it had any involvement in last night’s attack.

Horror CCTV caught the moment a gunman stormed into the exclusive club with an AK-47 as revellers were seen in CCTV diving to the ground as a hail of bullets sparked off cars.

A Lebanese woman who gave her name as Hadeel and was in the club with her husband has spoken of the moment the carnage unfolded.

She said: “At first we thought some men were fighting with each other.

“Then we heard the sound of the gunfire and ducked under the tables.

“We heard the guy screaming Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest), all three of us heard that ... We heard his footsteps crushing the broken glass.

“We got out through the kitchen, there was blood everywhere and bodies.”

The killer opened fire at the popular club in the Turkish city at around 1.15am local time as hundreds of young people were celebrating the arrival of 2017.

Claims that the attacker was wearing a Santa Claus outfit have been rejected by Turkish authorities today.

Referring to the claim the country’s Prime Minster said “This is not true,” despite chilling CCTV footage apparently showing a man with a red hat on inside the nightclub.

The leader of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has denied it had any involvement in last night’s attack.

Of the 39 dead, 16 have so far been confirmed as foreigners and British authorities were trying to work out if any of those killed were UK nationals.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are in touch with the local authorities following reports of an incident at a night club in Istanbul."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has warned Brits not to travel to Turkey following the attack.

Female private security guard from northeast Turkey Hatice Koc'un, 27, has been named as one of the victims of Istanbul's New Year terror attack.

Also among those confirmed dead are Reina nightclub waiter Kenan Kutluk and Leanne Nasser, who was on holiday with three female friends, all from the Arab-majority village of Tira in northern Israel.

Terrified revellers ran for their lives as the gunman, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, tore through the exclusive venue slaughtering people at will.

Many dived into the nearby Bosphorus waterway and hid underwater waiting for police to arrive.

The mayhem began when the unknown attacker, who witnesses claim was shouting in Arabic as he blasted through the club, arrived in a yellow taxi, shot a policeman stationed outside and then stormed in.

Named as 21-year-old Burak Yildiz, the tragic officer had been in the job for just a year.

Once inside, CCTV footage showed the terrorist appearing to take off his coat as he ran around the club shooting people at random.

Bodies are seen to be removed from the Reina nightclub Initial reports claimed the gunman had barricaded himself in toilets.

But following a search involving armed police and bomb experts, it appears he remains at large.

Up to 600 people were believed to be in Reina at the time.

Located in the Ortakoy district of Istanbul, it is one of the most well-known venues in Turkey and is popular with the city's rich and famous.

Celebrities including Sting, Paris Hilton and Gisele Bundchen have visited in the past.

Some witnesses spoke of multiple attackers, but officials have not confirmed this.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said 15 or 16 of those killed were foreigners but that only 21 of the bodies had so far been identified.

He said 69 people were in hospital, four of them in a critical condition.

He added: "A manhunt for the terrorist is underway. Police have launched operations.

"We hope the attacker will be captured soon." The attack again shook Turkey as it tries to recover from a failed July coup and a series of deadly bombings in cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara, some blamed on Islamic State and others claimed by Kurdish militants. 

Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin said the attacker had used a "long-range weapon" to "brutally and savagely" fire on people, apparently referring to some sort of assault rifle.

US President Barack Obama, on vacation in Hawaii, expressed condolences and directed his team to offer help to the Turkish authorities, the White House said.

Sahin and Soylu both referred to a single attacker but other reports, including on social media, suggested there may have been more, at least one of them wearing a Santa Claus costume which he later ditched in order to escape.

The Hurriyet newspaper cited witnesses as saying there were multiple attackers and that they shouted in Arabic.

"We were having fun. All of a sudden people started to run. My husband said don't be afraid, and he jumped on me. People ran over me. My husband was hit in three places," one club-goer, Sinem Uyanik, told the newspaper.

"I managed to push through and get out, it was terrible," she said, describing seeing people soaked in blood and adding that there appeared to have been at least two gunmen.

Dozens of ambulances and police vehicles were dispatched to the club in Ortakoy, a neighbourhood on the city's European side nestled under one of three bridges crossing the Bosphorus and home to nightclubs, restaurants and art galleries.

Sefa Boydas, a Turkish soccer player, wrote on Twitter: "I didn't see who was shooting but heard the gun shots and people fled.

"Police moved in quickly," . "My girlfriend was wearing high heels. I lifted her and carried her out on my back."

Hurriyet quoted Reina's owner, Mehmet Kocarslan, as saying security measures had been taken over the past 10 days after US intelligence reports suggested a possible attack.

Turkey, a NATO member and part of the US-led coalition against Islamic State, faces multiple security threats including spillover from the war in neighbouring Syria.

It launched a military incursion into Syria in August against the radical Islamist group and is also fighting a Kurdish militant insurgency in its own southeast.

The New Year's Eve attack came five months after Turkey was shaken by a failed military coup, in which more than 240 people were killed, many of them in Istanbul, as rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and fighter jets in a bid to seize power.

Istanbul, Turkey's most populous city, has seen several attacks this year, the latest on Dec. 10, when two bombs claimed by Kurdish militants exploded outside a soccer stadium, killing 44 people and wounding more than 150.

In June, around 45 people were killed and hundreds wounded as three suspected Islamic State militants carried out a gun and bomb attack on Istanbul's main Ataturk airport.