At least 31 people have been killed and 147 more injured in three blasts that rocked Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, according to Turkish officials. The explosions were reportedly suicide bomb attacks.
At least 50 killed in suicide attack on airport, according to AP.
The blasts occurred in the airport’s International Arrivals Terminal.
A Turkish official confirmed to Reuters that three explosions have hit the airport. According to some Turkish media, the blasts were terrorist attacks targeting two separate locations in the airport.
Twenty-eight people have lost their lives in the blasts that hit the airport, Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin said, Turkey’s NTV channel reported.
More than 60 people have been injured, six of them seriously, in explosions at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, according to the Turkish state Anadolu news agency.
1st photo from Istanbul's Ataturk airport where 2 major blasts rocked int'l terminal, leaving multiple casualties.pic.twitter.com/xhu1uMfzTS
— Mustafa Edib Yılmaz (@MustafaEdib) June 28, 2016
Islamic State (DAESH) might have been behind the attack, a police source told Dogan news agency. However, the Turkish authorities have not yet confirmed the claim, saying it is too early to draw conclusions, a Turkish official told Reuters.
The deadly blasts coincide with the second anniversary of the declaration of the so-called Caliphate by the terror group.
We must do everything possible to keep this horrible terrorism outside the United States.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2016
Many people caught in the blasts and near the airport posted photos and videos from the scene, showing the destruction caused by the explosions as well as people hiding in various places in search of safety.
The majority of those affected by the blasts were Turkish citizens, officials say, according to the Turkish public broadcaster NTV.
Gunfire was heard from the car park near the airport, CNN Turk reports, citing the witnesses. Four armed men were reportedly seen running away from the terminal building after the explosions, according to Turkey’s NTV channel.
I condemn the terror attack in #Istanbul. My thoughts are with those who lost their lives, the wounded and their loved ones.
— Erna Solberg (@erna_solberg) June 28, 2016
Turkish MP Eren Erdem said in his Twitter feed that the blasts were suicide bomb attacks, adding that a large number of people were injured.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a statement strongly condemning the attack.
Our thoughts are with the victims of the attacks at @istanbulairport. We wish them, their relatives & all airport staff strength & courage.
— Brussels Airport (@BrusselsAirport) June 28, 2016
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the airport by detonating explosives just before the security checkpoint at the international terminal, Reuters reports, citing a Turkish official.
According to eyewitness accounts cited by Reuters, one of the assailants “randomly opened fire” in the terminal prior to the blasts. Another witness said the initial two explosions were followed by a third one preceded by shooting, according to Reuters.
One of the attackers opened fire with a Kalashnikov assault rifle at the airport, NTV reports, citing Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag.
Police opened fire to against some suspects at the international terminal entry point of the airport, an official told Reuters.
Flight departures have been halted from Istanbul airport following the explosions, with passengers being taken to hotels, an official from Turkish Airways said, adding that planes will be allowed to land at the airport until 2110 GMT, Reuters reports.
Ataturk Airport is Turkey’s biggest, and the third busiest in Europe after London’s Heathrow and Paris’s Charles de Gaulle. Its total passenger traffic was 61 million people in 2015.
