Turkey blamed Islamic State jihadists Wednesday for the deadly assault on Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport, denouncing the latest terrorist attack in the country and vowing to fight terrorism "until the end."
No one has claimed responsibility for the late Tuesday attack that killed 41 people and wounded more than 240 others when three suicide bombers opened fire with assault weapons and then blew themselves up.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, "The evidence points to Daesh," using an Arabic name for IS, but added that "our investigations are continuing." He suggested the attack could be connected with Ankara's move Monday to repair strained relations with Russia and Israel.
The Turkish government declared a day of mourning Wednesday, even as work crews cleaned up the widespread debris at the airport, and flights resumed.
World condolences
World leaders condemned the bombings. U.S. President Barack Obama called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to offer his condolences.
Mogens Lykketoft, president of the 193-member United Nations General Assembly, said, "The international community must — through much closer cooperation — redouble efforts to contain and fight radical and violent extremism."
Erdogan said the incident "shows that terrorism strikes with no regard to faith and values." But he said that his country "has the power, determination and capacity to continue the fight against terrorism until the end."
The attack on the airport, Europe's third busiest, is the latest in a wave of bombings in Turkey over the past year that have killed more than 260 people. The terrorist attacks have decimated the country's tourist industry, cutting the number of visitors to the country that straddles Europe and Asia by 23 percent through May compared to a year ago.
“Our airport has been opened to flights and departures...,” Yildirim said. Turkish Airlines said it has resumed all flight operations, including flights between the U.S. and Istanbul.
Officials said 13 of those killed were foreign nationals and the remainder, Turks. They said 109 of the injured were released from hospitals Wednesday, but that 41 were still in intensive care.
Witnesses say that the suicide bombers opened fire on people before detonating explosives at the international arrival terminal.
One witness described the scene to VOA's Turkish service. "There were two small explosions and then a large one. People scattered everywhere. They did not know where to go. We were waiting for my sister, but could not find her. We are [still] waiting."
A second witness said, "In one direction there were shots. In another direction there were bombs, and people ran out as fast as they could, and there were people bleeding on the sidewalk."
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was on a plane that landed at the Ataturk airport just minutes after the attacks. Later, he expressed his condolences to the victims on his official Twitter account, saying he felt “deep pity for the lost innocent lives in that barbarous act of those who have neither God or hope nor a place among the people.”
Islamic State has been blamed for two suicide bombings earlier this year in Istanbul targeting foreign tourists.
The Kurdish rebel group PKK also has carried out suicide bombings, but usually targets security forces, as it did this month in an attack on a police bus that killed 11 people.
In the last year, both Ankara and Istanbul have seen scores killed in bombings carried out by both IS and Kurdish rebels.
VOA's Turkish Service also contributed to this report.
Turkish police block the entrance to Istanbul's Ataturk airport early Wednesday, June 29, 2016.
Bodies are seen outside Turkey's largest airport, Istanbul Ataturk, Turkey, following a blast, June 28, 2016.
Turkish forensic police officers work at the scene of a blast outside Istanbul's Ataturk airport, June 28, 2016.
Following an evacuation, passengers walk away from Istanbul's Ataturk airport, June 28, 2016.
Forensic experts work outside Turkey's largest airport, Istanbul Ataturk, following a blast in Turkey, June 28, 2016.
Turkish rescue services help a wounded person outside Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, June 28, 2016. Two explosions have rocked Istanbul's Ataturk airport, killing at least 28 people and wounding dozens of others, Turkey's justice minister and another offici
Paramedics push a stretcher at Turkey's largest airport, Istanbul Ataturk, following a blast in Turkey, June 28, 2016.
Explosion at Istanbul Ataturk Airport
Explosion at Istanbul Ataturk Airport
Explosion at Istanbul Ataturk Airport
Turkey Airport Blast
Explosion at Istanbul Ataturk Airport
Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, center, speaks to reporters next to Interior Miinister Efkan Ala, left, at the Ataturk airport in Istanbul, Turkey, following a multiple suicide bombing, June 29, 2016.
People gather at the entrance to Istanbul's Ataturk airport in the early-morning hours of June 29, 2016, after suicide bombers struck in the terminal, killing dozens of people and wounding many others.
Following their evacuation after a series of explosions, a flight's passengers leave on a bus from Istanbul's Ataturk airport in the early-morning hours of June 29, 2016.
Members of a flight crew leave Istanbul's Ataturk airport in the early-morning hours of June 29, 2016. Blasts set off by suicide bombers hit the terminal, killing dozens of people and wounding many others, Turkish officials said.
Passengers embrace each other early in the morning as they wait outside Istanbul's Ataturk airport following their evacuation in the wake of a number of explosions, June 29, 2016.
via Voice of America http://ift.tt/295s1Rj
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