Many of the 39 killed in Istanbul attack were foreigners: minister

(Reuters) Fifteen or sixteen of the 39 people killed when a gunman attacked a nightclub in Istanbul on Sunday were foreigners, but only 21 of the bodies have so far been identified, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.

Soylu said a manhunt was underway for the attacker.

Speaking to reporters, he said that five Turkish citizens were among the dead and that 69 people were in hospital.

An attacker shot at police officers outside an Istanbul nightclub early on Sunday before entering and opening fire at random inside the building, where around 500-600 people were celebrating the New Year, broadcaster NTV said.

Police special forces and explosives experts were still searching the club in the Ortakoy district of Turkey’s most populous city, an NTV correspondent at the scene said. The whereabouts of the attacker was unclear.

President Barack Obama expressed condolences on Saturday for the attack and directed his team to offer U.S. help to Turkish authorities, the White House said.

“This afternoon the president was briefed by his national security team on the attack in Istanbul,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement.

“The president expressed condolences for the innocent lives lost, directed his team to offer appropriate assistance to the Turkish authorities, as necessary, and keep him updated as warranted.”