Istanbul airport explosions: 28 dead, 60 injured, Turkish official says

Turkey has endured a rise in deadly attacks in recent months, with militants targeting tourist spots and police, making the security situation increasingly volatile in the country.

Turkey’s prime minister says 36 people and three suicide bombers have died in the attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport.

In the United States, the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey reacted to the explosions by putting armed, high-visibility patrols at the three main airports in the NY metropolitan region.

Condemning the terror attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport that killed 36 people, the U.S. and United Nations has called for stepped-up cooperation in fighting terrorism. Witnesses said at least two explosions took place, while others reported seeing and hearing gunfire.

Update, 6:25 p.m. ET: The Associated Press reports that a Senior Turkish official believes ISIS is behind the attack.

Erdogan strongly condemned the attack at Ataturk Airport that killed 31 victims and injured 147 others late Tuesday. No group has claimed responsibility for the killings so far.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which prompted the suspension of all flights in and out of the the airport, Turkey’s busiest.

Immediately after the blasts, images shot by bystanders and local media and aired on CNN Turk showed panicked travelers cowering in stores, ambulances wheeling the injured away, and people in tears on their cellphones. Authorities later said he was carrying a bag loaded with Molotov cocktails.

Pictures posted on social media from the site showed wounded people lying on the ground inside and outside the global terminal. Witnesses said a third bomber threw a grenade and then exploded. “Unless all government and the entire mankind join forces in the fight against terrorism, much worse things than what we fear to imagine today will come true”.

Flights in and out of the airport were suspended after the attack. At the Istanbul airport, the first security check is outside the terminal-but even so, the crowds there, waiting to get inside the airport, proved to be a vulnerable target.

Another vehicle bomb killed 11 people including 7 police officers at a busy intersection in the Vezneciler district of central Istanbul on June 7. The Turkish prime minister blamed the bombing on the PKK.

– The White House issued a statement: “Ataturk International Airport, like Brussels Airport which was attacked earlier this year, is a symbol of international connections and the ties that bind us together”.

“We expect that a resolute stance against terrorist organizations should be adopted by the world and especially Western countries with their parliament, media and non-governmental organizations”, Erdogan said in a statement while stressing that Turkey would continue its fight against terror groups.

Turkey, which is part of the US -led coalition against Islamic State, is also fighting Kurdish militants in its largely Kurdish southeast.

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara sent consular officers to the airport to see whether any of the victims were from the United States.

The US State Department also announced that it is trying to determine if any Americans were killed in the attack.