INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Istanbul Airport Explosions: 28 Die In Suicide Bomber Blasts, Flights Canceled [Update]

By Effie Orfanides
Published on: 09:31 PST, Jun 28, 2016

Three Istanbul airport explosions have left at least 28 people dead and 60+ injured. Six of the injured are listed in critical condition. According to CNN, it is believed that two suicide bombers entered Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport and detonated bombs, one just outside the terminal on the pavement and the other at the security gate at the airport’s entrance. It is unclear where the third bomb was set off.

According to Turkey’s Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, there weren’t any bombs inside the airport itself.

The three suspects believed to be terrorists are among the dead. Their identities are unknown at this time. According to reports, the airport’s international terminal was the intended target. One of the men first opened fire with a Kalashnikov (a Russian-made rifle) before detonating his bomb.

A new video posted by CNN shows people on the ground at the airport.

The Istanbul airport explosions have caused air travel cancellations. According to Mail Online, flights to Istanbul will be canceled after 2110 GMT. Flights that are already in the air and scheduled to arrive at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport will be able to do so until that time. Flights scheduled to take off in the coming hours have already been canceled.

Ataturk International Airport is the busiest airport in Turkey. It is the 11th busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic. It is also “one of the most secure airports in the world,” according to CNN senior law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes.

Authorities were able to fire shots at one of the suicide bombers but he still detonated his bomb, taking out an unknown amount of people.

The Istanbul airport explosions are eerily similar to the attack in Brussels back in March. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, three men with bombs in their luggage were caught on surveillance video walking through the airport before an attack that left dozens of people dead. The only difference (so far) is that all three bombs have been detonated by the suicide bombers in Istanbul.

It didn’t take long for authorities to identify the bombers behind the attack in Brussels. It is unclear if authorities in Istanbul have any leads on the suicide bombers involved in today’s attack.

The three Istanbul airport explosions have caused mass chaos in Istanbul. So far, no Americans have been confirmed to be among the deceased. Little information about the deceased has been released at this time. It is unknown if any of the bodies have been identified.

“There are all of the major European and American boutiques there. You see people of all shapes and colors, in all sorts of dress. If you want to target the cosmopolitan nature of Istanbul, this is possibly the most cosmopolitan, heavily populated part. You can target tourist areas, but this is the part where the world comes together,” said CNN’s Ali Veshi.

Although the suicide bombing in Istanbul has not been confirmed as an act of ISIS terrorism, today is a significant date in the history of the group. Two years ago, the formation of ISIS was announced.

[Photo by Getty Images]

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