Istanbul police begin operation linked to nightclub attack
Police in Istanbul are understood to have launched an operation in the city in connection with the new year nightclub attack that killed 39 people.
Haber Turk news channel reports that police, acting on a tip-off, are carrying out an operation at a home in Istanbul's Zeytinburnu neighbourhood.
The private Dogan news agency says the operation is being carried out by special operations police with backing from a helicopter.
The assailant slipped from the scene of the gun attack at the Reina club early on Sunday, taking advantage of the chaos that ensued after he opened fire.
Earlier, Turkey's deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus said authorities were close to identifying the gunman after obtaining his fingerprints and a description of his appearance.
Newspaper reports said the attacker was thought to be from a Central Asian nation.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, describing the gunman as a "heroic soldier of the caliphate who attacked the most famous nightclub where Christians were celebrating their pagan feast".
It said the man opened fire from an automatic rifle and detonated hand grenades in "revenge for God's religion and in response to the orders" of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
