Milton Ont. woman identified as Canadian killed in Turkey nightclub attack

The Canadian woman killed in the attack on a Turkish nightclub on New Year’s Eve has been identified as Alaa Al-Muhandis.

The Milton, Ont. native was travelling overseas on a “vacation/business trip” when the attack occurred, her husband Asal Ahmed confirmed in a statement.

“Alaa was an outgoing, optimistic and loving person, she was the proud mother of two lovely kids, and a wonderful wife,” Ahmed said of his wife.

WATCH: Video shows aftermath of deadly attack inside Istanbul nightclub

1:37 Video shows aftermath of deadly attack inside Istanbul nightclub

He said she had been vacationing in Jordan before heading to Turkey with friends for New Year’s Eve. She was to return home to Canada shortly thereafter.

“Friends and family are in total shock for their great loss and ask for privacy and respect at this devastating time while we mourn,” he said.

READ MORE: Canadian among 39 killed in Turkey nightclub shooting

Al-Muhandis was one of 39 people killed, most of them foreign tourists, when a gunman opened fire in a popular Istanbul nightclub during New Year’s celebrations.

WATCH: Istanbul nightclub attack: New surveillance video shows moments before deadly attack

2:35 Istanbul nightclub attack: New surveillance video shows moments before deadly attack

In a Facebook post Monday, Conservative leadership candidate and Milton MP Lisa Raitt expressed condolences to Al-Muhandis’s family and neighbours.

Raitt wrote that “we never think that something like this can happen to us in Milton.”

Late Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed a Canadian was killed in the attack that also left as many as 70 others wounded.

With files from Canadian Press