Key figures related to ISIL's Reina attack in Turkey's İzmir: Report

The key figures related to an attack on a famous nightclub in Istanbul's Ortaköy just after midnight on New Year's Day are in the western province of İzmir, authorities have alleged.

Police detained suspects in the province after determining that three families with alleged connections to the Reina nightclub attacker, who is believed to be from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), moved there from the Central Anatolian province of Konya right after the attack. 

It has previously emerged that an ISIL militant codenamed "Ebu Muhammed Horasani" resided in Konya before moving to Istanbul to stage the attack, while authorities have also determined that the attacker had connections to the aforementioned three families in the province. Their houses were raided and fake passports and objects used in warzones, including cartridge belts, were found in searches conducted in three houses.

According to newly emerged details, the key figures of the jihadist group were among those detained in the province. Some of the detainees had personal contact with the ISIL militant or had knowledge of the attack beforehand, the investigations revealed.   

It has previously surfaced that the attacker boarded a bus in Konya to travel to Istanbul and that he was with one of ISIL's "emirs," "Yusuf Hoca," on Dec. 15, 2016. According to the new details, Yusuf Hoca did not board the bus but also left Konya right after the attack. 

Moreover, authorities are evaluating whether another ISIL attack was planned other than the Reina attack. A bag that was delivered by another bus from Konya to Istanbul on Dec. 15, 2016, contained a pistol and ammunition that could possibly have been used for an assassination, daily Milliyet reported.