Pictured: Victims gunned down as they celebrated New Year at exclusive Istanbul nightclub as Turkish police hunt ISIS fanatic
The revellers gunned down by a machine-gun wielding ISIS fanatic during the Istanbul nightclub attack have been named by Turkish police.
The dead included the daughter of a prominent Lebanese businessman, the chief of security at the Reina nightclub, and a bus driver who had unwittingly transported a group of partygoers to their deaths.
A female security guard, an Arab-Israeli student and a Lebanese banker were also among those murdered.
Details of the victims were released as an international manhunt continued for the attacker who arrived in a taxi before unleashing a hail of 180 bullets during a five-and-a-half minute rampage at an exclusive night spot.
This morning, ISIS claimed responsibility for the New Year's Eve atrocity which it said was carried out by a 'heroic soldier of the caliphate who attacked the most famous nightclub where Christians were celebrating their pagan feast.'
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One of the Istanbul attacker's victims was Rita Sami (pictured), 26, daughter of Ilyas Schami, a prominent Lebanese businessman. She was pictured on social media wearing flowers in her hair (right)
Lebanese banker Heykel Müsellim (pictured) was a victim of the attack. He was identified using a DNA sample from one of his relatives
Also named as a victim of the ISIS atrocity was 25-year-old Lebanese man Ilyas Vardini (pictured)
The gunman, believed to be captured by CCTV left and right, rained down 'a hail of bullets' on the New Year revellers and is still on the run
Crying relatives gather around the coffin of one of the victims of the Turkish nightclub massacre ahead of the funeral
Club bouncer and mother-of-one Hatice Koc'un was among the 39 people who were gunned down in Istanbul. Turkish law requires a female guard be present to search women clubbers
ISIS branded Turkey a 'servant of the cross' as its ranting online message said the atrocity was in 'revenge for God's religion and in response to the orders' of the terror group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Just one of the 39 bodies remained unidentified this morning, after police worked through the night with families of the deceased.
Investigators are desperately trying to piece together evidence, in the hope of shedding light on the identity of the attacker who remains the subject of a frenzied manhunt.
Today Turkish media reported that the gunman took a cab to the venue, but got out due to traffic and walked the last four minutes to the scene.
In just over five minutes, the killer used six magazines, totalling 180 bullets, to massacre his unarmed victims, Turkish media reported.
A local security specialist, Abdullah Agar, also said that CCTV footage of the attacker appeared to suggest that he had an old injury to his foot.
Among the first to be killed were the club's head of security, Fatih Cakmak, 35, who was shot dead on the steps of the venue.
He had already had a brush with death last month, when he was working at Istanbul's Vodafone Arena as it was hit by a major bomb attack.
Sparks are seen flying down the street as the Istanbul nightclub shooter walks towards the Reina nightclub
People standing outside the club can be seen diving for cover as the gunman approaches, firing indiscriminately
After shooting a victim to the left of the screen, the gunman then runs into the nightclub
Photos from inside Istanbul's packed Reina club show partygoers celebrating moments before the gunman stormed the venue with an AK-47
Ayhan Arik, who drove the bus that reportedly carried some of the victims to the club, was also killed in front of the entrance.
He had two sons, and has already been laid to rest at a ceremony attended by his friends and family, at which his wife was reportedly so distressed that she was unable to stand.
Female security guard Hatice Karcilar also lost her life in the atrocity. The mother of a three-year-old child had also reportedly survived last month's bombing attack, and had posted pictures of herself on social media kissing the Turkish flag. She will be buried later today.
As the killer made his way inside the club, he fired indiscriminately as he reportedly screamed 'Allahu Akhbar', gunning down Rita Sami, 26, daughter of Ilyas Schami, a prominent Lebanese businessman. She was pictured on social media wearing flowers in her hair.
Also killed was police officer Burak Yildiz, 21, from Mersin in southern Turkey, who graduated from the police academy 18 months ago and had recently suffered the loss of his father.
Shortly before his death, he had posted on Facebook in sympathy for his young colleagues killed in previous terror attacks, saying, 'your bravery is not matched by your age', and 'your loss leaves a fire in our hearts', according to Turkish media.
The news was broken to the family by the chief of Mersin police, Mehmet Sahne, Turkish media reported, and his mother broke down when she received the news, having to be supported by health workers. A Turkish flag was put up in front of his house.
Also gunned down was police officer Burak Yildiz, who had been guarding the front of the upmarket riverside club
Club worker Kenan Kutluk (right) has been named as a victim. His Facebook page shows him posing next to footballer Diego Costa
Fatih Çakmak, a policeman who was on duty at the nightclub during the New Year celebrations, was also killed
Çakmak had previously escaped another attack while working at the match between Beşiktaş and Bursaspor last month when a car bomb exploded
Police have released several images of a suspect, they do not have yet have a name. CCTV, believed to be from inside the club, shows the gunman wearing hat
Moments before the attack clubbers were pictured enjoying the celebrations in the exclusive venue
Israeli Arab student Leanne Nasser, 19, who was on holiday in Turkey with three of her friends for the New Year, also lost her life in the shooting. One of her friends was injured while the other two were traumatised but physically unharmed, Israeli officials told MailOnline.
'Their friends told them not to come because they thought it was too dangerous,' said Shira Ben Zion, Israel's deputy consul in Istanbul. The survivors returned to Israel last night.
Also killed were waiter Kenan Kutluk, who was married with two children, and Lebanese banker Heykel Müsellim, who was identified using a DNA sample from one of his relatives. His body will be released in the coming days.
A young boy breaks down and rests his head on top of the coffin of one of the victims
A man kisses the coffin of Ayhan Arik, one of the 39 people killed in the attack on New Year's Eve
People in the city began burying the dead just 13 hours after the attack in line with Muslim tradition
Mustafa Sezgin Seymen was shot dead in front of his fiancé, Turkish media reported.
Financial adviser Mustafa Kaya was also among the dead, and his body was taken to his hometown of Kastamonu.
Also named were security guard Yunus Görmek, Lebanese Ilyas Vardini, 25, Mesut Gürbüz, 28, a Turkish tourism representative working in Germany, and Iraqi university student Jalal Abbas.
Bodies of the 13 Turkish victims have been released to their families for burial after the conclusion of autopsy and identification procedures.
The dead also included 25 foreign nationals from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Tunisia, India, Morocco, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria and Russia.
Efforts are being made to identify the final body.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (pictured) revealed the gunman left his weapon inside the venue and escaped by 'taking advantage of the chaos' that ensued
This morning armed police with shields formed a ring of steel around the nightclub in Istanbul