36 killed, 147 wounded in suspected ISIS attack on Istanbul airport

Passengers embrace each other at the entrance to Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, early Wednesday, June 29, 2016 following their evacuation

---

Three suspected Islamic State group suicide bombers targeted the international terminal of Istanbul’s Ataturk airport Tuesday, killing at least 36 people and wounding many others, Turkish officials said.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said 36 were dead and Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said 147 were wounded. Another senior government official told The Associated Press the death toll could climb much higher.

Turkish anti-riot police officers block the main entrance of the Ataturk airport in Istanbul June 28, 2016 after explosions followed by gunfire hit Turkey’s biggest airport.Ozan Kose, AFP

The senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government protocol, at first said close to 50 people had already died, but later said that the figure was expected to rise to close to 50.

Yildirim said three suicide bombers were responsible for the attack and all initial indications suggest the Islamic State group was behind it.

He said the attackers arrived at the airport in a taxi and blew themselves up after opening fire. Asked whether a fourth attacker might have escaped, he said authorities have no such assessment but are considering every possibility.

People wait with their luggage outside the Ataturk airport in Istanbul, on June 28, 2016, after two hit the Turkey’s biggest airport.Ozan Kose, AFP

The victims included some foreigners, he said, adding that many of the wounded have minor injuries but others are more badly hurt.

Another Turkish official said two of the attackers detonated explosives at the entrance of the international arrivals terminal after police fired at them, while the third blew himself up in the parking lot.

The official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government protocol and cited interior ministry information, said none of the attackers managed to get past security checks at the terminal’s entrance.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that “It is clear that this attack is not aimed at achieving any result but only to create propaganda material against our country using simply the blood and pain of innocent people.”

He added that he expected the world to show a “decisive stance” against terrorist groups in the wake of the attack.

People stand outside the entrance as they leave the airport after two explosions hit the Turkey’s biggest airport of Ataturk in Istanbul, on June 28, 2016. Ozan Kose, AFP

Turkish airports have security checks at both the entrance of terminal buildings and then later before entry to departure gates.

Roads around the airport were sealed off for regular traffic after the attack and several ambulances could be seen driving back and forth. Hundreds of passengers were flooding out of the airport and others were sitting on the grass.

Hevin Zini, 12, had just arrived from Duesseldorf, Germany, with her family and was in tears from the shock.

“There was blood on the ground,” she told The Associated Press. “Everything was blown up to bits… if we had arrived two minutes earlier, it could have been us.”

Paramedics help injured outside Turkey’s largest airport, Istanbul Ataturk, Turkey, following a blast June 28, 2016. Ismail Coskun, Reuters

South African Judy Favish, who spent two days in Istanbul as a layover on her way home from Dublin, had just checked in when she heard an explosion followed by gunfire and a loud bang. She said she hid under the counter for some time.

Favish said passengers were ushered to a cafeteria at the basement level where they were kept for more than an hour before being allowed outside.

Two South African tourists, Paul and Susie Roos from Cape Town, were at the airport and due to fly home at the time of the explosions.

“We came up from the arrivals to the departures, up the escalator when we heard these shots going off,” Paul Roos said. “There was this guy going roaming around, he was dressed in black and he had a hand gun.”

The private DHA news agency said the wounded, among them police officers, were being transferred to Bakirkoy State Hospital.

Turkey has suffered several bombings in recent months linked to Kurdish or Islamic State group militants. The bombings include two in Istanbul targeting tourists that authorities have blamed on the Islamic State group. In one attack, three Israeli tourists were killed.

The attacks have increased in scale and frequency, scaring off tourists and hurting the economy, which relies heavily on tourism revenues.

Istanbul’s Ataturk airport was the 11th busiest airport in the world last year, with 61.8 million passengers, according to Airports Council International. It is also one of the fastest-growing airports in the world, seeing 9.2 percent more passengers last year than in 2014.