The number of persons feared dead has increased to 41 with over 239 others were injured in Tuesday night’s triple suicide bombing at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkish officials have said on Wednesday.
13 of the 41 dead are foreign nationals; including five from Saudi Arabia, two from Iraq, and one each from Tunisia, Uzbekistan, China, Iran, Ukraine and Jordan. The Palestinian ambassador to Turkey has also said a Palestinian woman was killed.
Three suicide bombers, armed with Kalashnikov rifles, had attacked the airport, detonating their explosive vests in the arrivals hall of Ataturk airport, which is the third busiest in Europe.
The attack at Istanbul airport came hours after Israel and Turkey signed an agreement to end a six-year diplomatic rift between the two countries.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility, but Binali Yildirim, Turkey’s prime minister, said it appeared to have been an attack by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) militants.
“There is initial evidence that each of the three suicide bombers blew themselves up after opening fire,” he told reporters at the airport.
Footage from the airport showed terrified children and parents crouched among debris on the floor as screams were heard in the background.
Meanwhile, activities in the airport have already resumed and scheduled flights are running as normal.
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