PKK not involved
- The Turkish government has now reported that the bombers were Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz.
- President Erdogan has said, “No terrorist organization will come between what we are,” and that the terror attack “will not divide or split our country.”
- The death toll has risen yet again, to 42, as a woman who was injured during the attack died at an local hospital overnight. Reports say 13 of the deceased were foreign nationals.
- The Istanbul governor’s office reports that 239 have been injured, 41 of whom are in intensive care.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has made a statement: “NATO Allies stand in solidarity with Turkey, united in our determination to fight terrorism in all its forms.”
- The government says it was another ISIS attack.
- The Kurdish PKK declared: “We only attack Turkish military and police, never civilians.”
The Empire State Building is dark tonight in honor of the victims of the Istanbul attack (Photo:@in_a_ny_second ) pic.twitter.com/hJfGL4oSBl
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) June 30, 2016
ISIS attacked a Muslim majority country during the holy month of Ramadan and most of the victims are Muslim. But it calls itself “Islamic”.
— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) June 29, 2016
Flights at the airport have officially resumed, but many were still cancelled or delayed.
The style of the attack was very similar to the attack in Brussels earlier this year.
Our thoughts are with the victims of the attacks at @istanbulairport. We wish them, their relatives & all airport staff strength & courage.
— Brussels Airport (@BrusselsAirport) June 28, 2016
Istanbul’s Governor Vasip Şahin said in a statement that the attacks were carried out by three men in three different parts of the airport. The targets were the international flights terminal, the domestic flights terminal, and the parking lot.
More footage from the night of the attack has surfaced.
JUST IN: Video shows people hiding inside a store at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport after blasts https://t.co/XEB0HSGmzYhttps://t.co/dJgewfIn8b
— CNN (@CNN) June 28, 2016
What appears to be legitimate security footage of one of the bombs exploding has been circulating online. Graphic footage below:
From Moment of an explosion at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport in Turkey https://t.co/tIUZ32SRsA
— نعمه الاهدلNeamah (@EfgddGdrgf) June 29, 2016
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said that one of the terrorists used an AK-47 automatic rifle, and then proceeded to blow himself up.
An AK-47 seen at ground in one of Ataturk airport explosion believed to be belong to one of the attackers. #Turkey pic.twitter.com/CSIOciDYOZ
— Rami (@RamiAILoIah) June 28, 2016
After the attack, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has publicly called for an international “joint fight” against terror.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
There were two explosions, and at least one was suspected to be a suicide attack.
Just before the explosions, there were reports of gunshots coming from two gunmen with assault rifles.
Here is live video from the scene, with police arriving and people evacuating:
#SONDAKİKA!
Atatürk Havalimanı’nda patlama… Yaralılar var…
İşte ilk görüntülerhttps://t.co/NPG6labTAh— Habertürk TV (@HaberturkTV) June 28, 2016
Ambulances were directed toward the international terminal at Ataturk, one of the busiest airports in Europe. Even before the ambulances arrived, taxis at the airport were getting injured people to safety.
Many relatives waiting for loved ones outside Ataturk Airport pic.twitter.com/g7KISOS3vF
— Ceylan Yeginsu (@CeylanWrites) June 28, 2016
Police believe ISIS to be behind the attack.
This is the fourth suicide bombing in Turkey this year. Earlier this month, there was a bomb attack on a police bus which killed eleven people, six were policemen and five were civilians.
Huge numbers of passengers stranded outside Ataturk pic.twitter.com/E5w4jRJI9N
— Borzou Daragahi (@borzou) June 28, 2016