Istanbul New Year's Eve killer's key error - media

The Istanbul New Year's Eve killer was described as highly trained, calm and experienced in urban warfare, but he left all the money he had at the crime scene, the Daily Mail reports.

According to Turkish media he made one key error: while discarding his jacket after the attack, he left 500 Turkish Lira (£114) in the pocket. This meant he was unable to pay the taxi fare when attempting to flee from the scene.

The suspect approached a taxi and told the driver he would get money to pay him when arrived at his destination. The offer was refused, however, forcing him to flag down a second cab. This time, he was successful, it has been reported.

The terrorist made a call from the taxi driver's phone, the Vatan newspaper claimed, but the number had been unavailable for three months. Police believe it may have been used as a decoy.

The suspect was driven back to the safe house in Zeytinburnu, a journey of about 35 minutes, where he allegedly knocked on the door of an Uighur ethnic restaurant and was given the cash to pay the taxi driver.