GettyA gun and bomb attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk international airport late Tuesday has killed at least 36 people and injured more than 140.
It was earlier reported that the death toll was at least 10, with another 20 people wounded.
Three attackers opened fire near an entry point to the terminal and blew themselves up after police fired at them, officials say.
Early reports suggested at least one suicide bomber armed with a Kalashnikov detonated an explosive, while reports in Turkey suggested two terrorists may have been present.
Warning: Graphic Content
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said early signs suggested the so-called Islamic State was behind the attack, BBC reports.
Recent bombings have been linked to either Kurdish or IS separatists, and Tuesday’s attack on Istanbul looked like a major co-ordinated assault, says the BBC’s Mark Lowen.
Ataturk airport was long seen as a vulnerable target. Last year, the airport overtook Frankfurt to become the third busiest in Europe, after London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
GettyAccording to reports, there are X-ray scanners at the entrance to the terminal but security checks for cars are limited.
Pictures from the airport showed bodies covered in sheets, with glass and abandoned luggage scattered around the building.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack should serve as a turning point in the fight against terrorist groups, saying: “The bombs that exploded in Istanbul today could have gone off at any airport in any city around the world.”
GettyCalling for a unified international fight against terrorism, the Turkish president said:
Make no mistake: For terrorist organizations, there is no difference between Istanbul and London, Ankara and Berlin, Izmir and Chicago or Antalya and Rome.
Unless all governments and the entire mankind join forces in the fight against terrorism, much worse things than what we fear to imagine today will come true.
PAThe US called the attack ‘heinous’, saying America remained ‘steadfast in our support for Turkey’, while German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: “We grieve for the victims. We stand by Turkey”.
If ISIS is behind this attack, as Turkey and the U.S. say, this would be a declaration of war, as CNN reports.
Our thoughts are with the victims, the families, and those affected by the tragic incident.
