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Multiple Injuries In Istanbul Airport Explosions

by Cate Carrejo

A round of explosions and gunfire resulted in 10 fatalities at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport Tuesday, according to new reports from the Turkish justice minister. Two explosions followed by gunfire coming from a parking lot hit an unknown number of people, and taxis were seen taking the wounded away from the airport. Social media pictures show heavy damage within the main terminal of the airport, indicating significant destruction of the airport complex. According to Turkish officials, two suspects detonated suicide bombs before passing the security checkpoint within the airport, in addition to the suspects in the parking lot. Update: The Associated Press reported that the Istanbul governor said 28 people were killed in the attacks and 60 were wounded. However, a few hours later, a Turkish official said the death toll had risen to nearly 50.

This attack may be related to recent bombings by Kurdish or Islamic State radicals. Earlier this month, a car bomb targeting a police van killed 11 people in Istanbul's famous Fatih district. No individual or group has yet claimed responsibility in the Atatürk attack.

This is not the first time the Istanbul airports have been targeted. Another explosion late last year at the Sabiha Gökçen airport in Istanbul claimed one life — 30-year-old Zehra Yamaç, an airport employee — and left several others injured. A terrorist group called TAK claimed responsibility for the attack, in which they fired four mortar shells onto the tarmac, also damaging some parking planes as well as airport staff.

This story is developing...