Caught Istanbul nightclub attacker pleads guilty

Turkey’s prime minister Binali Yildirim said that the man suspected of carrying out the deadly New Year’s Eve attack on an Istanbul nightclub has been detained.

Yildirim told reporters in Ankara that the man was being questioned by police, and expressed hope that the interrogation would unveil the “forces” behind the attack that left 39 people dead.

"The vile terrorist who attacked the place of entertainment on New Year’s eve and led to the loss of so many lives has been captured," Yildirim said. "What is important is for the suspect to be captured and for the forces behind it to be revealed," he added.

Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin also confirmed the identity of the suspected gunman as Abdulgadir Masharipov, an Uzbek national who had trained in Afghanistan and is believed to have entered Turkey in January 2016.

Sahin said the suspect, captured late Monday, had confessed to carrying out the massacre, adding that his fingerprints matched those of the attacker, CBS reported.