Istambul Ataturk Airport Attack: At Least 36 Dead. 147 Wounded

Gun shots, screams and explosions through the air at Istambul Ataturk Airport, as three terrorists armed with boms and guns attacked the passengers on Tuesday.

Witnesses  describes the deadly shots and the crowd of panic when the attackers struck. Three attackers opened fire near the entry point into the terminal and blew themselves up after the police opened fire on them, officials said.

At least 36 people were killed, and another 147 people were injured, Turkey's Justice Minister, Bekir Bozdag said.

Turkish Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, said, early signs pointed to ISIS being behind the attacks or Kurdish Separatists.

Travelers Laurence Cameron described what he saw after he stepped off the plane, "it was just a big crowd and screaming people. Some were falling over themselves. A weak child in a wheelchair was just left, and everyone rushed to the back of the building, and than people ran the other way and no one really seemed to know what was going on," he told CNN. "Where do you usually hailing a taxi, that is where the attacks happened. The ground is just a kind of shredded. There were blood stains on the floor, too."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called an international united to fight against terrorism. "Make no mistake. For terrorist organizations, there is no difference between Istambul and London, Ankara and Berlin, Izmir and Chicago or Antalya and Rome. Unless all governments and all mankind to join in the fight against terrorism, it is much worse than what we are affraid to imagine today will become reality."

The US called the attack "heinous" and said the US remained "steadfast in our support for Turkey."

German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, "we grieve for the victims. We stand with Turkey."

Flights in and out of the airport have been stopped after the attack. The US Federal Aviation Administration has grounded all services between the US and Istambul.


source:
BBC News & CNN