Images released of Istanbul nightclub ‘gunman’ as police detain 12 people

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Images of the main suspect for the Istanbul nightclub shooting on the New Year’s Eve were released Monday by Turkish police as they arrested at least twelve people in relation to the bloodbath.

The main suspect in the Reina nightclub shooting stares into the lens as he films himself in Taksim Square, before the ISIL-inspired killer massacred dozens. /CFP Photo

Eight of the detentions came upon a tip-off Monday, confirmed Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus, as funerals were held for some of the 39 people shot dead during the Reina club attack on the shore of the Bosphorus Strait, just over an hour into the New Year. According to the BBC, four more arrests were made in a separate police operation.

People carry the coffin of Yunus Gormek, 23, one of the victims of the Reina night club attack, during his funeral ceremony on January 2, 2017 in Istanbul. /CFP Photo

None of the arrested people are believed to be the gunman, who is still at large. According to Kurtulmus, authorities have the fingerprints and a basic description of the assailant.

“In the process after this, work to identify him swiftly will be carried out. We hope that we will find not only the terrorist but also his connections and those who gave him support inside and outside,” said Kurtulmus.

Photos of the Istanbul nightclub terror attack's victims are placed at the site of the massacre in Istanbul, Turkey on January 2, 2017. /CFP Photo

ISIL claimed responsibility for the gun attack in a statement released early Monday. But its connection to the carnage has not been independently confirmed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a message of condolence to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the mass shooting.

In the message, Xi expressed the country’s denunciation of the attack and opposition to all forms of terrorism, as well as its willingness to cooperate with Turkey and the international community to fight terrorism.

This handout video grab taken from CCTV and released on January 2, 2017 by Haber Turk Gazete newspaper shows a gunman carrying out an attack on the Reina nightclub, Istanbul on January 1, 2017. /CFP Photo

Eyewitnesses have said that the gunman kept shooting for at least 20 minutes, and fired at least 180 bullets with an AK-47 rifle on partygoers inside the club.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri meets with a Lebanese wounded survivor from Istanbul's New Year nightclub attack inside an airplane, upon her arrival at Beirut international airport, Lebanon January 2, 2017. /CFP Photo

28 of the 39 victims of the shooting have been identified as foreign nationals.