Istanbul Airport attack: 42 killed and 239 wounded in Ataturk terror assault

Turkish officials have increased their estimates of the number killed and injured to 42 dead and 239 wounded after three gunmen, wearing suicide vests, opened fire on bystanders at Ataturk Airport and detonated their devices. Turkey declared a day of mourning for the attack.

In a statement the Governor of Istanbul's office has said 37 of the victims of the attack have been identified. Ten of those killed were said to be foreign nationals with three of dual nationality. Reuters reported the foreign nationals were one Palestinian woman five Saudis, two Iraqis, one Tunisian, an Uzbek, a Chinese, an Iranian, a Ukrainian and a Jordanian.

Of the 230 wounded, 109 have been discharged from hospital, according to the Istanbul governor's office. The number of dead does not include the three suicide bombers, who Turkish authorities believe were members of the Islamic State (Isis).

World leaders have offered messages of condolences and solidarity with the Turkish people in the aftermath of the attack. Russian head of state Vladimir Putin has held what has been described as friendly call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It is the first time the two men have spoken since a rapprochement between their two countries after Turkey shot down a Russian jet near the Syrian border seven months ago.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said the attacks at the Ataturk airport are "just another reminder of the importance of joint efforts to fight our common threat — terrorism."

There were scenes of chaos at the airport, a major global hub, when the three attackers opened fire near an entry point to the terminal on 28 June, and blew themselves up after police fired at them.

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said that two terrorists detonated their suicide vests in a waiting area before going through metal detectors. He added that another attacker fired with a Kalashnikov rifle.

Police inside the building reportedly fired shots to try to stop the attackers just as they reached a security checkpoint at the arrivals hall, but they blew themselves up when they came under fire.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, despite statements by Turkish officials. While Istanbul and other cities and towns across Turkey have been targeted by both Islamic State and Kurdish militants, Isis has predominantly attacked civilian targets with the Kurdish nationalists carrying out assaults of police and military installations.

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