Istanbul, June 29 (IANS): The death toll from a terror attack on Istanbul's Ataturk airport has risen to 41, with over 230 others injured, BBC reported on Wednesday citing Turkish officials.
Istanbul's Governor Vasip Sahin confirmed the toll and said that at least 13 of those killed were of foreign or dual nationality. One Iranian and one Ukrainian were confirmed dead.
The attack took place on Tuesday night when three attackers arrived in a taxi and began firing at the terminal entrance. They later detonated their explosives laden suicide vests after police fired back.
Witnesses described deadly carnage and crowds in a panic as the attackers struck one of the world's busiest airports on Tuesday night, CNN reported.
Although signs pointed to the Islamic State (IS) being responsible for the the attacks, no group has claimed responsibility.
The airport was closed overnight for several hours, and flights into the airport were diverted to the capital of Ankara and other cities. The airport reopened at around 2 a.m.
Pictures from the airport terminal showed bodies covered in sheets, with glass and abandoned luggage littering the building.
A video from inside the terminal showed people fleeing and the bright orange flash of fire from one of the explosions. Victims staggered and some fell from the blood-covered, slick floor.
Another video showed a man walking with a gun, which he drops when he was apparently shot by a security officer. The man slumps to the ground and the officer briefly stands over him before running. About 10 seconds later, there was an explosion.
Traveller Laurence Cameron described what he saw after he stepped off a plane. "It was just a massive crowd of screaming people. Some were falling over themselves," he said, adding "Where you normally hail a taxi, that is where the attack happened. The ground is just kind of shredded. There are bloodstains on the floor as well."
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a unified international fight against terrorism. "Make no mistake: For terrorist organisations, there is no difference between Istanbul and London, Ankara and Berlin, Izmir and Chicago or Antalya and Rome," he said.
"Unless all governments and the entire mankind join forces in the fight against terrorism, much worse things than what we fear to imagine today will come true."