Kyrgyzstan asks Turkey for info about Istanbul nightclub attacker

The Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security has asked Turkey to confirm information that a Kyrgyz citizen was possibly involved in the New Year's Day terrorist attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, committee spokesman Rakhat Sulaimanov told Interfax on Tuesday.

"Due to varying information about the terrorist act in Istanbul appearing in the media and a Kyrgyz citizen's possible involvement in it, representatives of the State Committee for National Security are constantly staying in contact with Turkish colleagues," he said.

For their part, representatives of the Kyrgyz Embassy in Ankara told Interfax that they had forwarded an official request to Turkey's authorities and law enforcement agencies.

"No confirmation has been given so far. All of rest is wild guesses," one of the embassy officials told Interfax.

Turkish newspaper Hurriyet said that Turkey's law enforcement agencies were suspecting that the terrorist act in Istanbul could have been carried out by a native of Central Asian countries - Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan.

Turkish media earlier published a photo of a Kyrgyz citizen allegedly involved in the Istanbul terrorist attack.

Thirty-nine people were killed when a gunman began shooting at random at people celebrating the New Year in the Reina nightclub in Istanbul.