39 people, up to 24 of them foreigners, were killed when gunman who is still at large opened fire dressed as Santa in top nightspot
POLICE in Turkey have released the first picture of their prime suspect in the New Year's nightclub attack.
The unnamed man - believed to be a member of ISIS - is described as being from East Turkestan, Afghanistan or Chechnya.
Earlier, CCTV footage emerged showing the moment the 'Santa' gunman began firing at New Year's eve revellers with a Kalashnikov seconds before his merciless nightclub massacre in Turkey.
The clip filmed outside the entrance of the Reina nightclub in Istanbul's Ortaköy district shows the butcher, reportedly wearing a Santa hat, unleashing rounds from his semi-automatic weapon at those outside the front of the nightspot.
Before the gunman emerges onto the CCTV, several sparks are clearly scene flying off the road immediately outside the nightspot - caused by stray bullets sprayed by the killer at passers-by.
Seconds later people are seen diving for cover as the killer approaches the entrance of the popular club.
But tragically one clubber - dressed in red on the video - is left stranded and falls victim to the gunman who casually strolls up to him and guns him down from just six feet away. He was reportedly killed.
He then enters the club looking for more people to kill where he reportedly screamed 'Allahu Akbar' before opening fire.
The video comes as a the first victims of the massacre have been named and they include a female security guard and an Israeli Arab tourist.
Police said at least 24 of the 39 dead are foreigners from countries including Canada, Belgium, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Libya and Lebanon. At least 69 people were also wounded.
The attacker also shot and killed a police officer outside the venue.
Other dramatic footage captured the moment the gunman opened fire, showing bullets pinging off cars as she shot his way through the street outside.
As many as 700 people had been inside the club at the time of the attack, which happened at around 1.20am local time.
Governor Vasip Sahin said: "Unfortunately (he) rained bullets in a very cruel and merciless way on innocent people who were there to celebrate New Year's and have fun."
A massive manhunt has now been launched for the gunman.
Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu said: "The search for the terrorist continues... I hope [the killer] will be captured quickly, God willing.
"This was a massacre, a truly inhuman savagery."
Meanwhile one man even visited his local police station over fears he would be mistaken for the killer.
The Turkish man - who looks similar to images released by police - posted a picture of himself on Facebook at a local police station distancing himself from the incident.
Eyewitness Sinem Uyanik said she saw several bodies inside the nightclub and her husband Lutfu Uyanik was wounded in the attack, but is expected to survive.
"Before I could understand what was happening, my husband fell on top me," she said, speaking outside Istanbul's Sisli Hospital.
"I had to lift several bodies from on top of me before I could get out."
Police with riot gear and automatic weapons, backed up by armoured vehicles, quickly sealed off the area around the Reina nightclub – one of the most popular nightspots in Istanbul.
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said today that Turkey would fight to the end against all forms of attack by terror groups and their backers.
"As a nation, we will fight to the end against not just the armed attacks of terror groups and the forces behind them, but also against their economic, political and social attacks," Erdogan said in a written statement.
"They are trying to create chaos, demoralise our people, and destabilise our country with abominable attacks which target civilians ... We will retain our cool-headedness as a nation, standing more closely together, and we will never give ground to such dirty games," he added.
The White House also condemned the "horrific terrorist attack" and offered US help to Turkey.
Security in the city had been heightened ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations with around 17,000 police officers on duty.
Turkey has been rocked by a series of deadly terror attacks in 2016 carried out by the ISIS and Kurdish militants, killing more than 180 people.
On December 10, a double bomb attack outside a soccer stadium near the Reina nightclub killed 44 people and wounded 149 others.
The attack was claimed by Turkey-based Kurdish militant group, the Kurdish Freedom Falcons.
Nine days later, an off-duty Turkish riot policeman assassinated Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov at a photo exhibition in the capital, Ankara.
The government claimed US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen was behind the killing – an accusation the cleric has denied.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag vowed that Turkey would press ahead with its fight against violent groups.
"Turkey will continue its determined and effective combat to root out terror," Bozdag said on Twitter.
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