Turkey blames ISIS for Ataturk airport assault
Total number of dead now stands at 42 after horrific bomb and gun attack in Istanbul
- Day of national mourning declared after latest in the series of killings in Turkey this year
- Turkey's tourism industry is crippled after violence in neighbouring Syria continues to spill over
Updated : 11:14
Turkish president Recip Tayyip Erdogan has blamed Islamic State for the attack on Ataturk airport in Istanbul on Tuesday night where 42 people were killed and hundreds injured.
The gun and bomb attack was the latest in a string of terrorist attacks that have ripped through Turkey this year, and Erdogan has called on the international community to make it the final straw in the global struggle against terrorism.
At least three people with guns and suicide vests targeted the arrivals and departures areas, where they sprayed travellers with bullets and then detonated their explosives in a rampage that lasted just a few minutes
At least three people with guns and suicide vests targeted the arrivals and departures areas
More details have emerged about the attacks at one of the worlds' busiest airports, as the Turkish people must wonder when these consistent attacks will stop.
Sources from the police in the media in Turkey have said that the terrorists rented a flat in the Aksaray area of Istanbul and took a taxi at 8.45pm to Ataturk.
The attackers were unable to enter the terminal initially according to Turkish officials.
“When the terrorists couldn’t pass the regular security system, when they couldn’t pass the scanners, police and security controls, they returned and took their weapons out of their suitcases and opened fire at random at the security check,” said prime minister Binali Yildirim.
The number killed so far includes 23 Turks, 6 Saudis, 2 Iraqis, an Iranian, a Chinese national, a Jordanian, a Tunisian, an Uzbek and a Ukrainian.
CCTV footage of the attack appears to show one of the perpetrators being shot by security forces, before detonating a suicide bomb inside the terminal building. According to reports, one bomb exploded in the arrivals hall, one in the departures hall, and one at the exit where people were escaping the chaos.
Beyond the human cost, the violence is likely to be a devastating blow for an economy heavily reliant on tourism, which is already suffering from falling visitor numbers after a string of attacks.
17 attacks have killed at least 300 people in terror-related incidents recently in Turkey, many of them in Istanbul.