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Dozens Killed In Suicide Attack At Istanbul Airport

ISTANBUL (AP) -- Dozens of people have been killed in a suicide attack at Istanbul's Ataturk airport Tuesday.

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says 36 people and three suicide bombers have died in the attack at Istanbul's Ataturk airport.

Other senior government officials said more than 140 people were injured and the death toll could climb much higher.

Yildirim said so far all indications pointed to the Islamic State group being behind the attack. He said the attackers arrived at the airport in a taxi and blew themselves up after opening fire.

Asked whether a fourth attacker might have escaped, Yildirim said authorities have no such assessment but were considering every possibility.

At Least 10 Killed In Suicide Bomb Attack On Ataturk International Airport In Istanbul
Security and ambulances block the road outside Turkey's largest airport, Istanbul Ataturk, after it was hit by a suicide bomb attack on June 28, 2016, Turkey. (Photo by Mehmet Ali Poyraz/Getty Images)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has released a statement condemning the attack, which took place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He says the attack "shows that terrorism strikes with no regard to faith and values."

He has called on the international community to take a firm stand against terrorism and vowed to keep up Turkey's struggle against terror groups.

Governor Vasip Sahin told Turkey's NTV television that three suicide bombers carried out the attack Tuesday.

Officials had previously said one or two attackers had blown themselves up at the entrance to the international terminal at the airport after police fired at them.

The state-run TRT television said an explosion hit a control point at the international arrival terminal of the airport.

Other media reported the sound of gunfire at the scene.

Eyewitness Ercan Ceyhan told CNN-Turk that he saw some 30 ambulances enter the airport.

The private DHA news agency said the wounded, among them police officers, were being transferred to Bakirkoy State Hospital.

Turkey has suffered several bombings in recent months linked to Kurdish or Islamic State group militants.

The bombings included two in Istanbul targeting tourists -- which the authorities have blamed on the Islamic State group.

The attacks have increased in scale and frequency, scaring off tourists and hurting the economy, which relies heavily on tourism revenues.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has put in place a ground stop for any U.S. flights departing for Istanbul as well as any flights leaving Istanbul for the U.S., according to an FAA spokesman.

 

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