Turkey internal security was dealt another blow when three suicide bombers attacked Turkey’s Ataturk Airport in Istanbul late Tuesday evening, with at least 36 people killed. Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. Initial government assessments suggest the self-described Islamic State was responsible, Yildirim told reporters.
Up to 150 people were also wounded in the attacks, officials said.
According to a senior Turkish official, Police shot at the attackers outside the security gate of the airport’s international terminal. The attackers did not make it through the security gate before detonating their explosives.
“Police fired shots at suspects at the international terminal’s entry, before security check, in an effort to neutralize them,” the official said.
Several social media videos appeared to show surveillance footage of one of the explosion.
Terrifying footage for the Ataturk suicide attacker blowing himself while people trying to escape him.. #Turkey pic.twitter.com/Q3TmdXAi2G
— Rami (@RamiAILoIah) June 28, 2016
Graphic images showed bloodied victims lying on the ground outside the terminal, where yellow taxis normally line up to shuttle travelers into the city.
“I was taking my mother to her plane when the attack occurred,” an eyewitness told Turkish media outlet Haberturk. “I got to the parking garage quickly, and everyone was running in all directions.”
The eyewitness described the explosions as “very violent,” saying, “We were in a pool of blood.”
“Everything happened very fast,” Ahmad Alomary told HuffPost Arabi. “I was waiting for a friend of mine [who was] coming from Dubai inside the [airport]arrival hall, then all of a sudden we heard a loud explosion noise and the security guards asked everybody to lie on the ground. The hall was crowded with many people, some with children. We all laid down, then I managed to run out from the hall.”
Ataturk is Turkey’s largest airport and is the main international airport serving Istanbul. All flights have been temporarily suspended at the airport in the wake of the attack, including those inbound from the U.S., and Facebook activated its Safety Check feature for the surrounding area.
Shocked and dazed travelers in the airport’s domestic terminal made phone calls to loved ones and waited for information, according to one woman who was present.
Turkey has been at the receiving end from months of attacks targeting both tourists and security forces. Self-described Islamic State militants have claimed credit for some of the bombings, while Kurdish militant group PKK, which the Turkish government is fighting in the country’s south, took responsibility for others.
“Terrorism strikes with no regard for faith and values,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement. “Nor do terrorists distinguish between their victims. We urge the world, especially Western countries, to take a firm stand against terrorism.”
“Make no mistake: For terrorist organizations, there is no difference between Istanbul and London, Ankara and Berlin, Izmir and Chicago or Antalya and Rome,” he continued. “Unless all government and the entire mankind join forces in the fight against terrorism, much worse things than what we fear to imagine today will come true. The Ataturk Airport attack should serves as a turning point in the fight against terrorism around the world and especially in Western countries.”
