The Istanbul nightclub killer who gunned down 39 people on New Year's Eve was sent three women by ISIS as a sick reward for the massacre.

Alleged killer Abdulkadir Mashaipov was captured on Monday in a police operation in Istanbul and has since admitted carrying out the attack at the Reina nightclub as people celebrated the start of 2017.

Authorities later identified him as being from Uzbekistan and said he had been trained in Afghanistan to carry out the attack from ISIS.

Also arrested in the squalid hideout on Monday were three women from Somalia, Senegal and Egypt.

And according to Turkish newspaper

In some sections of Islam it is understood that those who die in the name of God are gifted 72 virgins upon reaching heaven.

While Mashaipov was clearly the recipient of a reward without having to give his life in the name of his religion, it is not clear if the women sent to him were virgins. 

This comes as four other accomplices were also arrested in the run down flat, which was just 25 miles from the scene of the deadly assault.

Pictures have emerged from inside the apartment and show a shopping bag full of cash and a copy of the Koran lying among other possessions inside his lair.

A handwritten note on paper with red hearts, also apparently left at the scene, read: 'Do what ever u want... I will not care any more and I can't help any one of course I can't help myself. But if you want this it's okay but I will be in other place away from her.'

Two pistols, mobile phone SIM cards, and more than 100,000 euros in cash were seized when the Uzbekistan national was caught in his friend's house in Esenyurt district of the city.

Meanwhile, the Hurriyet Daily News, citing security sources, said the Istanbul shooter had received orders directly from Raqqa, the main bastion of ISIS in Syria.

The report, citing Turkish authorities and police investigations, said the original target of the attack was Istanbul's famous Taksim Square.

But the plan was modified in response to boosted security there, according to the report, which cited an account of events allegedly given by the suspect.

Masharipov reportedly arrived into Turkey in January last year through Iran after receiving orders to join the war in Syria. He initially settled in the central Turkish city of Konya.

In preparation, Masharipov travelled to Istanbul on December 16, staying first at an ISIS house in the neighborhood of .

But on New Year's Eve, he was quoted as saying it didn't seem possible to carry out the attack in Taksim due to intense security measures. Masharipov then contacted his handler, who told him to find a new target.

He spotted the Reina night club at 10 p.m. while traveling by taxi on the banks of the Bosporus. He suggested the new target to his handler, who approved.

The alleged shooter then went to collect his weapon from the neighborhood of Zeytinburnu, where he went two days before the attack.

The gunman took out a security guard outside of the nightclub and another civilian before entering Reina and letting loose a salvo of bullets on people who were celebrating New Year's Eve.

Turkish officials say the attacker, who switched clothes at the nightclub, melted into the crowd of survivors and escaped the premises.

The Hurriyet report claimed police came close to apprehending Masharipov the day after the attack, spotting him on the back seat of a car. Police were fired on and the suspect escaped.