Three suicide bombers have killed at least 30 people and wounded more than 60 after opening fire and blowing themselves up in the main international airport in Istanbul.
The attack upon Ataturk airport at 9.50pm Tuesday night (local time) was well coordinated, with Turkey’s Dogan news agency reporting that ISIS was behind the attack.
“According to information I have received, at the entrance to the Ataturk Airport international terminal a terrorist first opened fire with a Kalashnikov and then blew themself up,” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said in comments broadcast by CNN-Turk.
The number of casulties is expected to rise, but The Guardian has been told by the office of the Turkish justice minister that 31 people have died and 147 people have been wounded.
Forensic police work through the bomb site.
According to witnesses, a hero police officer wrestled a suicide bomber right before he detonated the explosive vest.
Flights in and out of the airport have ground to a halt.
Turkey has been subject to many terror attacks in the past, including two suicide attacks in tourist areas in Istanbul and two car bombings in the country’s capital Ankara.
The most recent attack was a car bomb planted in a police bus, killing 11 people and wounding 11.
