Police apprehend suspected planner of Istanbul nightclub attack

ISTANBUL

AFP photo

Turkish police have apprehended one of the alleged planners of an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attack on a famous nightclub at the heart of Istanbul. 

The prosecutor’s office has announced that a Turkish-origin French citizen, A.S., was caught in Istanbul on Feb. 12.

According to the prosecutor’s office, A.S. is among the planners of the Reina attack carried out by ISIL militant Abdulkadir Masharipov. An arrest warrant was previously issued for A.S. in the southwestern province of Burdur.

The rental contract of the house that Masharipov resided in was found on A.S.

The Burdur Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has said A.S. was registered to the southern province of Antalya and was determined to have been living in France since 2009.

The prosecutor’s office also said an investigation was launched into A.S. on Jan. 10 in relation to the Reina attack. 

He was arrested by Burdur Criminal Court of Peace. 

At least 39 people, including a police officer, were killed and 65 others were wounded when Masharipov opened fire on New Year’s revelers in the nightclub in the Ortaköy neighborhood at about 1:15 a.m. on Jan. 1.

Masharipov was captured in the Esenyurt district of Istanbul late on Jan. 16. He was arrested on Feb. 11.