Kyrgyz special service detains foreigner suspected of major terrorist attack in Turkey in 2017

BISHKEK. Dec 10 (Interfax) - Officers of the Kyrgyz National Security Committee have detained a man suspected of involvement in a terrorist attack on an Istanbul nightclub in 2017, the committee press service said on Friday.

"As part of the continuing counterterrorist measures, a foreign citizen has been detained in Bishkek on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities. It has been determined that the detainee played a role in the high-profile terrorist attack in an Istanbul club, in which 39 people from 18 countries were killed," it said.

The suspect has been placed at the National Security Committee detention center, and the investigative procedures are continuing, it said.

A man armed with an assault rifle opened fire upon patrons of the Reina nightclub in Istanbul in the early hours of January 1, 2017, killing 39 and wounding 69 people. Islamic State (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) claimed responsibility for the attack.