Pentagon Says It Killed Uzbek is Operative Behind Istanbul Nightclub Attack

AKIPRESS.COM - The United States said on April 21 that it killed an Islamic State operative, who was a close associate of leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and linked to an attack on a Turkish nightclub that left 39 people dead, reports RFE/RL.

Abdurakhmon Uzbeki, who was believed to be from Uzbekistan, was killed during a secret ground operation near Mayadin, Syria, on April 6, said Colonel John Thomas, a spokesman for the U.S.

military's Central Command.Thomas said Uzbeki helped facilitate the attack on the exclusive Istanbul nightclub Reina on New Year's Eve.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it...