At least 10 killed in suicide attacks at Istanbul Airport

At least 10 killed in suicide attacks at Istanbul Airport

Tuesday, June 28, 2016 9:39 pm


Ataturk Airport Turkey bomb blast

Ataturk Airport Turkey bomb blast

Reports indicated that at least 10 people have been killed and 20 others injured in two blasts at Ataturk Airport, Turkey’s biggest international airport and the world’s busiest airport, on the basis of number of international passengers.

The country’s minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag confirmed the fatalities.

An official told Turkish state broadcaster TRT that two attackers opened fire with machine guns and detonated suicide belts outside the international terminal before passing the first security checkpoint.

The attack took place at around 10 p.m. local time which is a busy time for the airport with flights arriving from Europe and leaving for the Persian Gulf and other parts of the region.

The U.S. State Department had yesterday updated its travel warning for Turkey, advising  foreign and U.S. tourists have been explicitly targeted by international and indigenous terrorist organizations –- including explicitly “aviation services.”

In March, the U.S. ordered the departure of family members of U.S. Government personnel posted to the U.S. Consulate in Adana and family members of U.S. Government civilians in Izmir province through July 26, 2016.

The circumstances surrounding today’s explosions remain unclear. It comes three months after deadly coordinated bombs were detonated at an international airport in Brussels.

Reports indicated that Turkey has been dealing with multiple security threats from the Kurdish separatist group the PKK, as well as ISIS.

Early this month, a car bomb attack on a police bus killed seven officers and four civilians in central Istanbul, making it the fourth major attack in Turkey’s largest city this year.


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