Istanbul attack 'turning point' in war on terror

A relative mourns the death of one of the victims killed at one of Europe's busiest airports. Photo: Reuters
A relative mourns the death of one of the victims killed at one of Europe's busiest airports. Photo: Reuters

Turkey has pointed the finger at Islamic State for a triple suicide bombing and gun attack that killed 41 people at Istanbul's main airport, and President Tayyip Erdogan called it a turning point in the global fight against terrorism.

In the deadliest of a series of suicide bombings this year in Turkey, the attackers struck the busy airport, a symbol of Istanbul's role as the Muslim world's most open and cosmopolitan city, a crossroads between Europe and Asia.

Three bombers opened fire to create panic outside the airport about 9.50pm on Tuesday (local time), before two of them got inside and blew themselves up. Some 239 people were wounded, officials said.

No group had yet claimed responsibility. 

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the attackers shot at random to overcome security checks at the international terminal of Ataturk airport. One blew himself up in the departures hall, a second in arrivals and the third outside.

"Our thoughts on those responsible for the attack lean towards Islamic State," he told a news conference in the capital Ankara, adding that investigations should be completed in the coming days and the identities of the bombers revealed.

John Brennan, head of the CIA in Washington, also said the attack bore the hallmarks of Islamic State "depravity".

Turkey is part of a United States-led military coalition against Islamic State and home to about 3 million refugees from the five-year civil war in neighbouring Syria.

Islamic State has established a self-declared caliphate on swathes of both Syria and Iraq and declared war on all non-Muslims and all Muslims who do not accept its ultra-hardline vision of Sunni Islam. It has claimed responsibility for similar bombing and gun attacks in Belgium and France in the past year.

Erdogan, whose government has taken steps this week to improve relations with Israel and Russia in part to strengthen its hand in fighting against militants, said the attack should serve as a turning point in the global battle against terrorism, which he said had "no regard for faith or values".

US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the attack in separate phone calls with Erdogan, his office said.

'THERE WAS CHAOS'

A day after the attack, broken ceiling panels littered the kerb outside the arrivals section of the international terminal. Plates of glass had shattered, exposing the inside of the building, and electric cables dangled from the ceiling.

Clean-up crews swept up debris and armed police patrolled as flights resumed.

"There were little babies crying, people shouting, broken glass and blood all over the floor. It was very crowded, there was chaos. It was traumatic," said Diana Eltner (29), a Swiss psychologist who was travelling from Zurich to Vietnam but had been diverted to Istanbul after she missed a connection.

Paul Roos (77), a South African tourist on his way home, said he saw one of the attackers "randomly shooting" in the departures hall from about 50 metres away.

"He was wearing all black. His face was not masked ... We ducked behind a counter but I stood up and watched him. Two explosions went off shortly after one another. By that time he had stopped shooting," Roos told Reuters.

"He turned around and started coming towards us. He was holding his gun inside his jacket. He looked around anxiously to see if anyone was going to stop him and then went down the escalator ... We heard some more gunfire and then another explosion, and then it was over."

Thirteen foreigners were killed, including five Saudis, two Iraqis and citizens from China, Jordan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Iran and Ukraine.

One attacker opened fire in the departures hall with an automatic rifle, sending passengers diving for cover and trying to flee, witnesses said. Two other explosions hit the arrivals floor below, one of them just outside the building.

Video footage showed one attacker inside the terminal being shot, apparently by a police officer, before falling to the ground as people scattered. The attacker then blew himself up around 20 seconds later.

The Dogan news agency said autopsies on the three bombers had been completed and that they may have been foreign nationals. It did not cite its sources.

Istanbul's position bridging Europe and Asia has made Ataturk airport, Turkey's largest, a major transit hub for passengers across the world. The Istanbul governor's office said 109 of the 239 people hospitalised had since been discharged, but the health minister said 41 were still in intensive care.

Delayed travellers were sleeping on floors at the airport, a Reuters witness said, as some passengers and airport staff cried and hugged each other. Police in kevlar vests with automatic weapons prowled the kerbside as a handful of travellers and Turkish Airlines crew trickled in.

The national carrier said it had cancelled 340 flights although its departures resumed after 8am on Wednesday.

The attack bore similarities to a suicide bombing by Islamic State militants at Brussels airport in March that killed 16 people. A coordinated attack also targeted a rush-hour metro train, killing a further 16 people in the Belgian capital.

Islamic State militants also claimed responsibility for gun and bomb attacks that killed 129 people in Paris last November.

Turkey announced the restoration of diplomatic ties with Israel on Monday after a six-year rupture and has been trying to restore relations with Russia, a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

 

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