The wife of the ISIS gunman who wiped out 39 people in an Istanbul nightclub on New Years’ Eve says she was blindsided by his alleged connection to the barbaric terror group, according to a new report.
“I learned about the attack from the TV. I didn’t know that my husband was an ISIL militant, let alone a sympathizer,” the killer’s wife told police — using another acronym for ISIS — after she was detained by Turkish authorities.
Footage of the shooting Courtesy of CNN
The gunman, now identified as an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant, arrived in Turkey from Syria, according to newly emerged details regarding the attack.
The date when he arrived in Turkey is unknown, but he was in the Central Anatolian province of Konya, Turkey from Kyrgyzstan on Nov. 22, 2016, before heading to Istanbul to carry out the attack on Reina, which claimed the lives of 39 people.
According to the investigators, the militant, arrived in Konya with his wife and two children and rented a house there. His family members, whose identities remain hidden, have been detained by police.
Memorial set up in front of the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, mourning the victims
The militant, whose identity has not been released, was with his wife and two children in Kyrgyzstan before he hopped on a plane to Istanbul to attack the popular Reina club, the Hurriyet Daily News reported Tuesday.
New details continue to emerge regarding the attack. Turkish newspaper, Daily Habertürk released new footage of the attacker arriving at the scene. He can be seen with his backpack and a cigarette while getting into a taxi at 11:58 p.m. from the Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul to head to Reina.
He leaves for the Reina nightclub in a cab
The gunman opens fire
He was driven to the club, where he walked inside around 1:15 a.m. and detonated a stun grenade. He then began to indiscriminately shoot people with a Kalashnikov rifle. Police later recovered up to 180 bullet casings inside a DJ’s booth.
Turkish investigators were probing how the gunman knew the security guards were unarmed and that the club had three secret exits, which were only used by the staff, the Hurriyet Daily reported.
Police were also investigating why the killer did not enter the bathrooms or the kitchen during his rampage.
The driver let him use the phone, leading some investigators to believe that the killer may have had help.
Police have detained and questioned the cab driver, who said the killer spoke Turkish.
Investigators on Tuesday detained two foreign nationals at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport in connection with the attack.
Medics transport a woman who was injured after the shooting inside the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, which left 39 people dead
Cellphone footage has also surfaced showing the alleged gunman recording himself in Taksim Square, a popular Istanbul tourist site, and places around the perimeter.
Investigators were examining the footage to determine whether he was conducting a surveillance operation or sending ISIS leaders a cryptic message.
Weary locals were grieving outside the Reina nightclub, they were rather sad and angry
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