Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Istanbul Ataturk Airport terror attack: CCTV shows suicide bomber fire on crowds in massacre that left 36 dead

A weapon is seen on the floor at Ataturk airport
Witnesses have described the bloodshed and carnage after three suicide bombers opened fire then blew themselves up in Istanbul's main international airport.

A total of 36 people are dead and close to 150 wounded after an attacker sprayed the departures hall with an automatic rifle, sending passengers diving for cover and trying to flee, before all three blew themselves up in the arrivals hall a floor below, witnesses and officials said.

Turkey's prime minister said it appears to have been an attack by ISIS terrorists.

CCTV has emerged that appears to show one of the gunmen, wearing a dark jacket and red top, aiming an assault rifle.

Most of those killed were Turkish nationals but foreigners were also among the dead, a Turkish official said.

The Foreign Office said it was "urgently seeking further information" about possible British casualties.
Suicide bomber with machine gun at Ataturk Airport during terror attack
This CCTV grab shown by a Turkish news channel appears to show one of the attackers take aim with an assault rifle
@Alain082Istanbul Ataturk Airport terror attack: Shocking moment 'suicide bombers blew themselves up in terminal building'
This image shows a ball of flame during the terrifying incident
Universal NewsAirport CCTV images as a gunman detonates a suicide vest in the airport as people run away from him at Ataturk airport
The three attackers detonated suicide vests
Turkish media has reported that a man called Yusuf Haznedaroğlu was killed in the attack.
Haberturk news reported the airport worker was on his way home to his wife after his shift ended. They had only been married for 10 days.
Another confirmed victim is Ertan An.
The married-father-of one is an interpreter and was with a group of tourists when he was killed. His wife is six months pregnant.
Cagatay Col, 27, a desk officer and Mustafa Bayrakli, a 51-year-old taxi driver, were also killed.
ReutersA broken window is seen at Turkey's largest airport, Istanbul Ataturk, Turkey
A broken window is seen at Istanbul Ataturk
A woman named Duygu, who was at passport control after arriving from Germany, said she threw herself to the floor after the explosion. "Everyone started running away.
Everywhere was covered with blood and body parts. I saw bullet holes on the doors," she said.
A British man who entered the airport moments after the explosion said it was "like something out of a disaster movie".
Laurence Cameron told Good Morning Britain: "It was just a sea of people, screaming, running towards me. I initially thought it was a hoax or something. It became apparent quite quickly that something was wrong.
"All the passport desks had been abandoned, police were everywhere, guns drawn... it was chaos."
Ali Tekin, who was at the arrivals hall waiting for a guest, said the roof came down after an "extremely loud" explosion.
A wounded girl from the Ataturk Airport suicide bomb attack is carried to the Bakirkoy Sadi Konuk Hospital
A girl wounded in the attack is taken to hospital
Defne Karadeniz/Getty ImagesA relative of the Ataturk Airport suicide bomb attack victim waits outside Bakirkoy Sadi Konuk Hospital
A relative of the Ataturk Airport suicide bomb attack victim waits outside Bakirkoy Sadi Konuk Hospital
AFPPassengers embrace outside Ataturk airport`s main enterance in Istanbul
Passengers embrace outside Ataturk airport`s main enterance in Istanbul
"Inside the airport it is terrible, you can't recognise it, the damage is big," Tekin said.
Paul Roos, 77, said he saw one of the attackers "randomly shooting" in the departures hall from about 50 metres (55 yards) away.
Terror attack at Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, Turkey.
A man carries a wounded child to safety
OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty ImagesA Turkish police officer reacts at Ataturk airport`s main gate
A Turkish police officer reacts at Ataturk airport`s main gate
"He was wearing all black. His face was not masked," said Roos, a South African on his way home after a holiday in southern Turkey.
"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.
Ambulances arrive at Turkey's largest airport, Istanbul Ataturk, Turkey
Ambulances arrive at the airport
Defne Karadeniz/Getty ImagesA relative of a Ataturk Airport suicide bomb attack victim waits dejectedly outside Bakirkoy Sadi Konuk Hospital
A boy grieves at the scene
GettyIstanbul Ataturk bomb attack
Bodies are seen on the ground surrounded by paramedics
The PM added: "It is significant that the act of terrorism comes as we start the process of normalisation with our neighbours."
Prime Minister David Cameron described the terrorist attack as "hideous", while Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond described himself as "shocked" by the incident and said "we stand ready to help".
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are in close contact with authorities in Istanbul and urgently seeking further information following an incident at Ataturk Airport.
"Our staff in Istanbul and London stand ready to support any British nationals affected."
ReutersTurkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim speaks to the press at the Ataturk airport in Istanbul, Turkey, following a multiple suicide bombing
Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim speaks to the press at the scene
GettyAuthorized personnel clear glass debris in Ataturk airport's International arrival terminal
Personnel clear shattered glass debris in Ataturk airport's International arrival terminal
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack, which took place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, "shows that terrorism strikes with no regard to faith and values".
Alexey Pushkov, head of the foreign affairs committee of Russia’s Parliament, tweeted: "Victims of terror attacks across the world are innocent people. We in Russia understand the horror people have been through in Istanbul, Brussels, and Paris.
"We bow our heads. We sympathize and remember.”
A spokesman for UN chief Ban Ki Moon issued a statement saying that the Secretary General "stands firmly by Turkey as it confronts this threat and stresses the need to intensify to combat terrorism."
Two US counterterrorism officials familiar with the early stages of investigations said Islamic State was at the top of the list of suspects even though there was no evidence yet.
REUTERS/StringerParamedics attend to casualties injured outside Turkey's largest airport, Istanbul Ataturk
Paramedics attend to casualties
GettyInjured people lying on the ground next to a terminal
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the use of suicide bombers against "soft" targets was more typical of ISIS than the other obvious suspect - Kurdish PKK militants - who generally attack official government targets.
One of the officials also said that, while Islamic State had recently stepped up attacks in Turkey, the group rarely claims responsibility because Turkey remains one of the main corridors for its fighters travelling from Europe to Syria and Iraq.
No group had claimed responsibility more than nine hours after the attack, which started around 9:50 p.m. local time (1850 GMT).
ReutersOfficials walk inside Turkey's largest airport, Istanbul Ataturk
Officials investigate inside the terminal
Flights in and out of the airport, which is one of the busiest in the world, were suspended after the attack but Mr Yildirim said air traffic had now resumed.
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.

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