Turkey has accused ISIS of carrying out the attack at the Istanbul airport, an attack that was well planned and executed, but could have been far worse if not for the courageous actions of Turkish security forces.
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“There are now 94 injured people in hospitals”, Ala said.
The three suicide bombers who brought horror and bloodshed to Istanbul’s main airport were identified Thursday as nationals from Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, adding fresh leads for investigators digging into suspected Islamic State networks.
Turkish officials have said the three Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) terrorists who attacked Atatürk Airport came from Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Details are emerging of how the attackers arrived at Turkey’s busiest airport by taxi before indiscriminately firing at passengers with automatic rifles and detonating suicide bombs.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said initial indications suggested Daesh was responsible for the attack.
In a statement on Friday, Amnesty said it condemned the attack on the Istanbul airport and said it had opposed Chatayev’s extradition on the grounds he faced torture, which was against human rights law.
Mourners stand next to the body of Sondos al-Basha, a Palestinian woman who was killed in the Istanbul airport attack blamed on the Islamic State (IS) group on June 28, during her funeral in the West Bank town of Qalqilyah on July 1, 2016.
“If the Islamic State is indeed behind this attack, this would be a declaration of war”, said Mr Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Programme at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The private Dogan news agency said the Russian attacker had entered the country one month ago and left his passport in a house the men had rented in the Fatih neighbourhood.
Despite the Ataturk airport being the third in Istanbul this year, it still came as a shock to Turkish people, as the target was very critical.
A police spokesman could not confirm the report, which was also carried by other media. His wife was not hurt in the attack. However, Russian and Turkish experts see no clear link between this event and Russia and say that it is more related to the Syrian crisis and the improvement of relations between Turkey and Israel.
Turkey’s interior minister said the bombs used were a mix of RDX, TNT and PETN that were “manufactured”.
Seperately, security forces killed two suspected Islamic State militants at the border with Syria, Anadolu and other news reports said Thursday.
It has claimed responsibility for similar bombing and gun attacks in Belgium and France in the past year.
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He also allegedly organized two fatal bombings this year in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet tourist district and at Istiklal shopping street, according to the Hurriyet newspaper.
