Turkey seizes 27 IS suspects over nightclub attack

ISTANBUL - Turkish police on Wednesday detained 27 Islamic State (IS) suspects in northwestern city of Bursa over their links to the shooting attack on an Istanbul nightclub on New Year's Day, local media reported.

Fifteen women were among the foreigners netted by anti-terror teams in seven places in Bursa, and 40 passports, 38 fake ID cards and 15 mobile phones were seized in an empty apartment, press reports said.

The apartment was used by two Tajik citizens, who also rented several flats in Istanbul, Bursa and the western city of Izmir on behalf of IS members by introducing themselves as dentist, doctor, businessmen or trader, the state-run Anadolu Agency said, citing the authorities.

One Tajik national was caught by the police, while the other is on the run, the report said.

A gunman, identified as Abdulgadir Masharipov, a Uzbek national, shot dead 39 people and injured 69 others in Istanbul's Reina nightclub early on New Year's Day.

He was captured on Monday night after 17 days on the loose. The IS has claimed responsibility for the mass shooting.

According to Masharipov, the IS gave him 197,000 US dollars after the attack for him to flee to Raqqa, an IS stronghold in Syria, CNNTurk said.

The same amount of money was found on the gunman when he was seized in a police operation in Istanbul.