Istanbul nightclub massacre suspect detained in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz authorities have arrested a suspect linked to a 2017 nightclub shooting in Istanbul which killed 39 people, security services said on Friday.

A statement released by Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security said "it was established that the detainee was involved in a high-profile terrorist attack”, without giving further details about the suspect.

The 2017 Reina nightclub shooting took place as Istanbul celebrated the coming of the new year. The attack was later claimed by the Islamic State group, which prior to the shooting had never directly claimed attacks in Turkey.

It had, however, already been blamed for several strikes, including the Istanbul airport bombings.

The nightclub shooting led to Turkey stepping up its campaign against the IS group at home and abroad, with Dozens detained in sweeps by Turkish security services and police after the attack.

In 2020, an Istanbul court sentenced Abdulkadir Masharipov, an Uzbek national, to 40 life sentences  for perpetrating the massacre. The sentences symbolised the lives of each of his victims, as well as one life sentence for the shooting itself.

The court also sentenced fellow convict Ilyas Mamasaripov to 1,432 years in prison for helping plot the attack.