“Omar was not a stable person he would come home n start beating me” – Terrorist Ex-wife

Omar Mateen died in what the FBI described as "an exchange of gunfire with police officers".

His former wife Sitora Yusufiy said the pair had met in New York before marrying and moving to Florida together in 2009 in what, at first, seemed like a normal marriage.

But he began to beat her and, with the help of her parents, she left him after four months, fearing for her life. The couple divorced in 2011.

"He was not a stable person," she said.

"He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn't finished or something like that."

She said he had expressed interest in being a police officer, even going as far as applying to the police academy.

She described him as a "private person" but said he was not especially expressive about his Muslim faith.

FBI Assistant Special Agent Ron Hopper said Mateen was investigated in 2013 after making "inflammatory comments to co-workers alleging possible terrorist ties".

Mr Hopper said that matter was "thoroughly investigated" and Mateen was interviewed twice but "ultimately we were unable to verify the substance of his comments and the investigation was closed".

The man suspected of shooting dead at least 50 people at a Florida nightclub was described by his ex-wife as a "mentally ill" man with a violent temper.

Omar Mateen, 29, is a Muslim American born in New York of Afghan descent and police are investigating whether the shooting was a hate crime or whether he had links to the terror group.

Mateen owned a small calibre handgun, which was licensed, and worked as an armed guard at a secure facility for young offenders.

He had been employed by security company G4S since September 2007.

He earned an associate's degree in criminal justice technology from Indian River State College in 2006, said college spokesman Michelle Abaldo, quoted in the New York Times.

IS-linked news agency Amaq said a statement: "The attack that targeted a nightclub for homosexuals in Orlando, Florida and that left more than 100 dead and wounded was carried out by an Islamic State fighter."