Turkish authorities appear to know who the prime suspect in the Istanbul nightclub massacre is, releasing both photographs and biographical information, although they seem curiously reluctant to state his name.
Not only do they have photos of him, they have a selfie video: about 44 seconds of footage he shot of himself as he walked through Taksim square in Istanbul. The UK Telegraph posted a copy of the video:
“It was not immediately clear if it was filmed before or after the New Year’s massacre at the Reina nightclub, or how the footage was obtained,” the Telegraph writes.
CNN quotes a source who says the selfie video was “first posted on a pro-ISIS Telegram account before being broadcast by Turkish media.”
The suspect was also caught on CCTV while changing money at a foreign exchange booth, in footage published by Sky News.
Police reportedly have fingerprints of the suspect as well. The authorities have described him as a 28-year-old from Kyrgyzstan who arrived in Turkey from Syria in November.
Reuters quotes Turkish security sources who speculated the attacker had combat experience and may have been trained in Syria, where Turkey is currently conducting military operations.
Reuters’s sources also said the attacker was traveling with his wife and two children when he entered Turkey, to avoid drawing attention. Turkish media reported that his wife has come forward and said she didn’t know he was a soldier of ISIS.
14 arrests have been made in connection with the attack, most recently including two foreign citizens detained for questioning upon arrival at Ataturk International Airport.
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