Suicide attack at Istanbul airport kills 41

Ataturk Airport is one of the busiest ports in the world, serving more than 60 million passengers in 2015 Ataturk Airport is one of the busiest ports in the world, serving more than 60 million passengers in 2015 © EPA

29 June 2016
Suicide attackers armed with guns and bombs killed 41 people and wounded nearly 239 others at Istanbul’s main international airport.

Turkish officials have said there are indications three suicide bombers from ISIS carried out the deadly attacks at the Ataturk Airport after coming under fire from police, although no group has claimed responsibility. The attackers opened fire at airport guards at the terminal entrance and a gunfight erupted before they blew themselves up one by one at around 10pm, according to authorities. Ataturk Airport is one of the busiest ports in the world, serving more than 60 million passengers.

World leaders were quick to condemn the attacks, which comes after the March attacks on Brussels airport, where two suicide bombings killed 16 people.

Since the attack a Turkish court has jailed seven suspects pending trial on terrorism charges over the triple suicide bombing, while another 37 are in custody. The seven suspects were detained on charges of “membership of an armed terrorist group” and being accomplices to murder. According to a government official the attackers were Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz nationals. Moscow says thousands of Russian citizens and citizens of other former Soviet states have joined Islamic State, traveling through Turkey to reach Syria.

 

To know more, read:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/turkey-istanbul-ataturk-airport-160628192042993.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/triple-suicide-attack-at-istanbul-airport-kills-41/article30672319/
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-blast-arrests-idUSKCN0ZR0MJ?il=0

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