Foreigners including many nationals of Arab countries were among the dead, officials said. Canada, Israel, Syria and Russia each lost one citizen in the attack.
The Islamic State put out a statement in the wake of the attack claiming responsibility for the raid on Monday.
“In continuation of the blessed operations that Islamic State is conducting against the protector of the cross, Turkey, a heroic soldier of the caliphate struck one of the most famous nightclubs where the Christians celebrate their apostate holiday,” the statement said.
A manhunt is under way in Turkey for at least one assailant who killed those celebrating New Year at the Reina nightclub in a spray of bullets.
As well as the 39 dead, about 70 others were wounded and three of those people remain in critical condition, Binali Yildirim, Turkey’s prime minister, declared on Sunday.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu described the attack as a “massacre, a truly inhumane savagery”.
ISIS has carried out several attacks in Turkey in recent months.
