Nightclub gunman said he was Islamic soldier

The Florida nightclub killer called himself an "Islamic soldier" and threatened to strap hostages into explosive vests in calls with police during the three-hour siege, according to transcripts released by the FBI on Monday.

From inside the nightclub, the gunman, Omar Mateen, told police negotiators to tell the United States to stop bombing Syria and Iraq and that was why he was "out here right now".

The conversations shed more light on the possible motivations of Mateen, who killed 49 people and injured 53 in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.