10 die as suicide bombers attack Istanbul airport

At least 10 people were killed yesterday evening in a suicide attack at the international terminal of Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said.
Two explosions hit the airport - Turkey’s biggest -  followed by gunfire, local television channels reported, adding that all flights had been suspended.
“Unfortunately 10 people have been killed according to a preliminary toll,” Bozdag told parliament in Ankara.
Sixty people were wounded, six of them very seriously, state news agency Anadolu said.
More than a dozen ambulances raced to Ataturk airport, CNN Turk said.
The channel cited witnesses as saying two violent blasts shook the international terminal, sparking panic among passengers.
“It was very strong, everyone panicked and started running in all directions,” one witness told CNN Turk.
Police set up a perimeter around the site, television images showed.
Turkey has been hit by a string of deadly attacks in the past year, blamed on both Kurdish rebels and the Islamic State (IS) group.
The Turkish airport attack also follows co-ordinated suicide bombings at Brussels airport and a city metro station in March that left 32 people dead.
Istanbul, a major tourism hub that is home to some 15mn people, has suffered several attacks in recent months, including a bombing in the heart of the tourist district that killed a dozen German visitors and was blamed on IS.
Two months later, three Israelis and an Iranian were killed in a bombing on the city’s main Istiklal shopping street, an attack also blamed on IS.
A blast on the tarmac at the other Istanbul airport, Sabiha Gokcen, killed a cleaner and wounded another in December, damaging several planes.
Located just outside Turkey’s biggest city, Ataturk airport served more than 60mn passengers in 2015, making it one of the busiest in the world.

Qatar condemns explosion
Qatar has strongly condemned the explosion at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport. While condemning the “cowardly criminal attacks which run counter to all moral values and human principles as well as the teachings of the revealed religions”, the Foreign Ministry, in a statement, expressed Qatar’s “solidarity with the brotherly Republic of Turkey and support to all measures it takes to maintain its security and stability”. The statement said that “Qatar’s support to Turkey stems from its firm position of rejecting violence and terrorism in all its forms and manifestations”. It expressed Qatar’s sincere condolences to the victims’ families, the Turkish government and people, wishing the injured speedy recovery.