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8 year oldTwo explosions hit the airport — Turkey’s largest and a major transport hub — followed by gunfire about 9.50pm Tuesday (4.50am Wednesday AEST).
“Unfortunately 10 people have been killed according to a preliminary toll,” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told parliament in Ankara.
An official said two suspects blew themselves up just before the security check, leaving at least 40 people wounded.
The official said police fired shots to try to “neutralise” the suspects, one of whom reportedly first opened fire with a Kalashnikov.
The state-run TRT said an explosion hit a control point at the international arrival terminal.
Other media reported the sound of gunfire at the scene, while a witness told CNN-Turk that gunfire was heard from the car park of the airport.
Pictures shared on social media showed wounded people lying on the ground inside and outside one of the terminal buildings.
#BREAKING Istanbul Airport on lockdown after two explosions, number of casualties unknown pic.twitter.com/VSISQpX1zn
— CNN Türk ENG (@CNNTURK_ENG) June 28, 2016
Atatürk Havalimanı'nda giriş ve çıkışlar kapatıldı. DHA: Birden fazla cansız beden var https://t.co/9R9dFxMopS pic.twitter.com/Bo8L0O17Eu
— CNN Türk (@cnnturk) June 28, 2016
Atatürk Havalimanı'nda patlama! #canlı yayın https://t.co/xfdBWqxbT0 pic.twitter.com/KgpGcnf8UL
— CNN Türk (@cnnturk) June 28, 2016
Police set up a perimeter around the site, television images showed.
Witness Ercan Ceyhan told CNN-Turk he saw about 30 ambulances enter the airport.
The private DHA news agency said the wounded, among them police officers, were being transferred to Bakirkoy State Hospital. Some of the wounded were being transported in taxis.
VIDEO: Heavily armed security seen outside Ataturk airport in #Istanbul following two explosions - @HaberturkTVhttps://t.co/U7zGvbnZLR
— Conflict News (@Conflicts) June 28, 2016
@bonniekipperman This isn't Ataturk Airport.
— Lady K (@The_LadyK) June 28, 2016
Atatürk hava limani bombali saldiri yapildi pic.twitter.com/qWpnLX7sGk
— Oguzcan Aksoy (@Oguz146) June 28, 2016
Turkey has suffered a spate of bombings this year, including two suicide attacks in tourist areas of Istanbul blamed on Islamic State, and two car bombings in the capital, Ankara, which were claimed by a Kurdish militant group.
In the most recent attack, a car bomb ripped through a police bus in central Istanbul during the morning rush hour, killing 11 people and wounding 36 near the main tourist district, a major university and the mayor’s office.
Turkey, which is part of the US-led coalition against ISIS, is also fighting Kurdish militants in its largely Kurdish southeast.
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