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Explosions, gun shots hit Istanbul’s Ataturk airport: report

AT least 10 people have died in a horrific suicide attack at the international terminal of Istanbul’s Ataturk airport.

Two 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.

Attack at Ataturk airport


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.

 

A police cordon is set up outside Istanbul's Ataturk airport. Picture: DHA TV via APSource:AP
A police cordon is set up outside Istanbul's Ataturk airport. Picture: DHA TV via APSource:AP
CNN-Turk also cited witnesses as saying two violent blasts shook the terminal, sparking panic among passengers.
“It was very strong, everyone panicked and started running in all directions,” a witness said.

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.

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.

Source: News Corp Australia Network:

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