The ISIL militant group has claimed responsibility for the New Year’s Day shooting rampage in a nightclub in Istanbul.<br /><br /> A statement about the attack, which killed 39 people, appeared on a social media site used in the past by ISIL to claim attacks.<br /><br /> The lone gunman who opened fire indiscriminately in the Reina nightclub, just over an hour into the New Year, is still at large. <br /><br /> More than 40 people are being treated in hospital.<br /><br /> The ISIL statement says the attack is part of operations it is conducting against Turkey, which it describes as “protector of the cross”.<br /><br /> It describes the gunman as an “heroic soldier of the caliphate” who struck what it calls “one of the most famous nightclubs where Christians celebrate their apostate holiday”.<br /><br /> Turkey is part of the US-led coalition that has been fighting ISIL.<br /><br /> Newspaper reports in Istanbul say investigators believe the gunman came from a Central Asian country.<br /><br /> At least 25 of the victims are believed to have been foreigners.<br />
