42 people were killed and 238 injured in a triple suicide bombing at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport. Foreigners are among the dead. Many international flights to and from the airport have been cancelled or suspended for safety reasons.
30 June 2016
One of the organizers of the attack at Ataturk Airport, Chechen national Ahmed Chataev, was known to Bulgarian authorities for terrorist activities, Bulgarian BGNES news agency reported.
Accoridng to the agency, Chataev was born in 1980 and has been wanted by authorities since 2008. There is evidence that he was hiding and lives in Western Europe. According to reports, he was part of a group loyal to Doku Umarov’s "Caucasus Emirate," and after Umarov’s death and the collapse of his group he joined Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).
The suspect was able to travel to Europe and former Soviet states without any restrictions for 13 years, RIA Novosti cited a police source as saying.
Chataev was arrested by Bulgarian authorities, but in 2011 the appeals court did not allow his extradition to Russia.
A US citizen was injured in the Istanbul airport attack, US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said. He added that Americans should expect law enforcement officials on public transport in the country.
"We will not shortcut aviation security in response to increased travel volume and longer wait times," Johnson said.
Turkish police have detained 13 people it believes to be connected to the bombings, including three foreigners. The detentions come as a result of 16 separate raids in the capital.
CCTV footage of Istanbul attack suspects is now in circulation. It shows clearly one of the attackers getting out of a car, wearing black. Another video shows a younger man wearing a vest and jeans enter the terminal before the bombing. Police is working to identify the men at this time.
29 June 2016
Members of the Russian children’s dance ensemble Biserinki who missed their scheduled flight from Ataturk Airport on Tuesday due to the terrorist attack will be brought home to Russia by a Turkish Airlines aircraft, TASS reports.
"All 15 girls and the teacher escorting them completed the check-in formalities and were awaiting takeoff inside the jet at 20:40 Moscow standard time," said Ramil Khalimov, local official in the children’s native city of Naberezhnye Chelny.
The girls, aged 11 and 12 years old, were returning from Bulgaria through Turkey after securing first place at the international dance competition “Peace, Arts and the Sea.” The blast caught the group in the green zone of the airport. They were briefly evacuated from the air hub to the city center and spent a night at a local hotel, reportedly paid for by Russian tourists, children`s rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said earlier.
The death toll in the Istanbul airport attack has risen to 42 people, Turkey’s Anadolu News Agency reports, citing the regional governor's office. Merve Yigit, who was seriously injured in the attacks, died in a private hospital in Bahcelievler, the agency added. The number of injured remains at 238.
The number of Ukrainians injured in the Istanbul airport terrorist attack has reached four, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said.
Two French citizens were slightly injured in the bombings, France’s president, Francois Hollande, said.
At least one Canadian citizen was injured in the Istanbul airport attack, CBC News reported.
Mourners lay flowers at Moscow's Turkey Embassy to commemorate Istanbul attack victims
US President Barack Obama has called Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan by phone to express his condolences over the Istanbul airport attack, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
The White House will offer “any support that the Turks can benefit from as they conduct this investigation and take steps to further strengthen the security situation in their country,” Earnest added.
Forty-one people injured in the Istanbul airport terrorist attack are still in intensive care, Reuters reports, citing the Turkish health minister.
“This was so terrible and I was so scared….I saw blood when I was trying to escape the building. I saw people losing consciousness, I saw women who cried – they were scared too. This was really terrible,” Muhammad Naby, who was at the airport at the time of the attacks, told RT.
He said that these “terrible things” must never be allowed to happen again.
“They [Turkish authorities] should control the airports. Thousands of people are flying. The airport security should be organized much better...Security in the airport and in this country must be boosted. Such things must never happen in the place where millions of people are gathering.”
An Azerbaijani man told RT that he had intended to get a ticket to Ataturk Airport, but had changed his plans and booked a ticket to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport instead, which is also located in Istanbul.
“I landed at Sabiha Gökçen [airport] at the same time that the attacks happened.”
The man’s cousin thought that he was still due to land at Ataturk airport.
“So he was waiting for me at the international flights section. Then he heard the explosion. He tried to reach me but my phone was off. I told him that I had landed at Sabiha Gökçen airport. I was lucky to stay alive.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed condolences to the Turkish nation over the terror attack at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, which according to the latest information killed at least 41 people and injured 239 others.
“We regret and express sympathy for the victims of the terrorist attack that took place yesterday [June 28],” Putin said.
Pope Francis has denounced the “brutal terrorist attack” at Istanbul's airport and is calling for the killers behind it to change their ways.
In a noontime blessing from his studio window, Francis said he was praying for the victims, their families “and the dear Turkish people.” He asked the entire piazza to pray in silence and then led the crowd in the Hail Mary prayer.
He said: “May the Lord convert the hearts of the violent ones and support our efforts toward the path of peace.” (AP)
The death toll in the Istanbul airport attack has risen to 41 people, the regional governor's office said, as cited by Reuters. At least 239 people have been injured in the blasts.
The victims included at least 10 foreign nationals and three people with dual citizenship, authorities said. Five Saudi nationals and two Iraqis are among the victims.
Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen is “crying with the Turkish people who once again are witnesses to a cowardly terrorist attack.”
Nordic and Baltic governments condemned Wednesday the attack at Istanbul's main airport that killed 36 people and wounded scores of others. Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg tweeted her “thoughts are with those who lost their lives, the wounded and their loved ones.”
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics conveyed “his deepest sympathies” while Finland Prime Minister Juha Sipila sent his condolences to his Turkish counterpart, Binali Yildirim. The region's foreign ministries said there were no reports of Nordic or Baltic victims. (AP)
Aeroflot, Russia’s national airline, has canceled two return flights from Moscow to Istanbul scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday due to the closure of Ataturk International Airport.
“All the passengers from the flights are free to refund the tickets or change the departure date free of charge,” the airline said in a Wednesday statement, adding that passengers will be kept updated on subsequent flights to and from Istanbul.
The Istanbul attack was “an infernal massacre” that left people of different views and nationalities dead or injured, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Wednesday.
“I repeat again, this is our shared pain,” she wrote on her Facebook.
Zakharova added that the world should join forces to combat terror and stop distinguishing between “moderate” and “extreme” terrorists, stressing that only through unity will it have a “chance to survive.”
One Ukrainian and one Iranian national were among 36 people killed in the triple suicide bomb attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk international airport, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing officials from the two countries. Earlier, Saudi media reported that seven Saudis were among the wounded. The nationalities of the other victims have not been disclosed so far.
Iran has suspended all flights to Istanbul because of the attack at Ataturk International Airport. “Due to last night’s explosion at Ataturk Airport… all Iranian flights are suspended until their safety and security are guaranteed,” Reza Jafarzadeh, public relations director at Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, said, as cited by Fars news agency. The flights could be resumed in the afternoon, he added.
Turkish Airlines suspended its flights until 8 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Full refunds will be provided to the travelers, according to the company’s statement.
The latest footage from Istanbul shows victims of the explosions arriving at Sadi Konuk hospital, in Bakirkoy, a district on the European side of the city.
A plane with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama abroad was landing at Istanbul's Ataturk airport at the time of the attacks, Dogan news agency reported. Rama is visiting Turkey on an official visit. The prime minister has landed and was safely transported to an official residence.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has said that the initial evidence following the blasts points to ISIS bearing responsibility.
“This was a horrific act of terror targeting innocent civilians,” Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. “It showed once again that terrorism is a global threat and defeating it requires global cooperation. All early indications suggest that the IS was behind the atrocity, but the investigation is ongoing.”
All three suicide bombers in opened fire before blowing themselves up, according to initial findings, the premier said.
Foreigners are very likely to be among the 36 people killed, Yildirim also said.
The attacks on the Istanbul airport involved three suicide bombers, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told the media. Initial findings revealed that all three opened fire before detonating their explosive devices.
Yildirim added that foreigners are likely to be among the dead.
The death toll from the attacks on the Istanbul airport has risen to 36, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, adding that there are many wounded.
The attackers arrived at the airport by taxi, according to Yildirim.
28 June 2016
The number of people killed in the attack has risen to 31, Turkish authorities confirmed. Over 140 people are said to be injured.
"At least 31 people were killed and 147 people injured," Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said, Turkish national broadcaster Haberturk reported.
A video has emerged showing the moment when Turkish police apparently attempted to stop the assailant as he fell on the ground being shot by one of the officers. Seconds later the perpetrator is seen detonating an explosive device.
Warning: the following video contains graphic content of a violent nature. Viewer discretion is advised.
Ahmed Furkan Gurtuna, a traffic officer who is working at the airport and was at the passport control at the moment of the attack, gave his firsthand account of the events, speaking to RT.
“I saw one terrorist accessed the airport and he had an AK47 and shot civilian people… Turkish police wanted to kill him, and after that I heard a bomb explosion,” he said.
Traveler Laurence Cameron described what he saw when he stepped off a plane at Ataturk to CNN.
"It was just a massive crowd of screaming people. Some were falling over themselves. A poor chap in a wheelchair was just left, and everyone just rushed to the back of the building, and then people ran the other way and no one really seemed to know what was going on," he said. "Where you normally hail a taxi, that is where the attack happened. The ground is just kind of shredded. There is bloodstains on the floor as well."
One of the attackers "randomly opened fire" in the terminal building before the explosions, a witness told Reuters. There were two explosions, followed by more shooting, then a third explosion.
An AK-47 was seen on the floor of the airport after the attack.
Americans in Turkey were warned of increased terror threats throughout the country on Monday.
“Foreign and US tourists have been explicitly targeted by international and indigenous terrorist organizations,” the US State Department said in a statement a day before the terror attack at Ataturk.
US citizens were encouraged to avoid travel to southeastern Turkey, especially near the Syrian border; Istanbul was not specifically mentioned in the warning.
EgyptAir announced that it has canceled Wednesday's flights into Ataturk.
The "vast majority" of casualties at Ataturk were Turkish, although some were foreigners, NTV reported, citing a Turkish official.
An armored police truck is stationed outside Terminal 1 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, awaiting a flight from Istanbul to land, WABC reported.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has stepped up security in the New York City area in the wake of the terror attack in Turkey, the local ABC affiliate added.
Initial indications suggest that Islamic State is behind the suicide bombings, Turkey's Dogan news agency reported, citing police sources.
A Turkish official told Reuters it is too early to conform any links, however.
Turkish authorities believe there were three suicide bombers at the airport, broadcaster NTV reported, citing Istanbul's governor. The death toll has grown to 28, he said.
President Recep Tayip Erdogan held a meeting with the prime minister and the head of the armed forces at the presidential palace after the blast, according to Reuters.
A police officer wrestled one of the suicide bombers to the ground at the airport before he detonated his device, and eyewitness told NBC News.
The casualty count has grown to 60 injured, with six of those people being seriously hurt, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Although ambulances are on the scene, at least some of the 20 wounded are reportedly being rushed to the hospital in taxis, BBC reported.
Planes will be allowed to land at Ataturk Airport until 2110 GMT, an official for Turkish Airlines said.
RT America's Simone Del Rosario has the latest on the attack that rocked the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey.
Facebook activated its safety check feature in Turkey for the attacks.
Surveillance video appears to have captured the moment of the attack.
Planes in the air will be able to land at Ataturk, but scheduled flights are not allowed to take off. Those passengers are being transferred to nearby hotels, Reuters reported, citing a Turkish Airlines official.
One Twitter user, Oguzcan Aksoy, appears to be inside the airport.
Footage from inside the airport:
Along with the 10 people killed in the attack, about 20 more are wounded, said Turkey's justice minister, according to Reuters.
Despite the explosions at Ataturk Airport, flights appear to still be operating in the area, according to radar. Some flights have been diverted, however, Reuters reported, citing a Turkish airport official.
(Reuters) - Ten people were killed in an attack on Istanbul's main international airport on Tuesday, Turkey's justice minister was quoted as saying by broadcaster NTV.
(Reuters) - Two suspects blew themselves up at Istanbul's Ataturk airport on Tuesday, detonating their explosives just before the security check at the international terminal, a Turkish official said.
Police fired shots to try to "neutralise" the suspects, the official said. Around 40 people were wounded in the blast, broadcaster HaberTurk reported.