Turkish anti-terror police conduct more raids in club probe

They included Alaa Al-Muhandis, an Ontario mother of two.

The government says the gunman, who reportedly escaped in a taxi, has been identified but authorities haven’t revealed his name. Turkish media have widely published images of the suspect, including a selfie video filmed at Istanbul’s Taksim Square.

Sabah newspaper, which is close to the government, said the suspect is a Kyrgyz national who was born in 1988.

Security has been tightened around Istanbul and at border crossings and airports to prevent him from fleeing Turkey.

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus suggested in an interview with the Hurriyet Daily news newspaper and other sister publications that “foreign intelligence services” could be behind the attack, pointing at the “professional” manner in which it was carried out.

“I am of the opinion that it’s not possible for the perpetrator to have carried out such an attack without any support. It seems like a secret service thing. All these things are being assessed,” Hurriyet Daily News quoted Kurtulmus as saying in the interview published on Thursday.

A group of about 20 suspects were detained on Wednesday in a police operation in Izmir, western Turkey. Anadolu said the suspects are from the largely Muslim Russian republic of Dagestan, as well as members of China’s Muslim Uighur minority and from Syria. They are thought to have lived with the gunman in an alleged IS cell house in the central Turkish city of Konya, the agency reported. About 20 children who were with the detainees were also taken to a police station.

Associated Press Writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed to this report.

Dusan Stojanovic, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Turkish anti-terror police conduct more raids in club probe

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