Officials said the number of dead is likely to
rise to 50, while Turkey's prime minister said Islamic State militants appeared
to have carried out the attack, which left around 239 people injured.
Witnesses said one attacker opened fire in the
departures hall with an automatic rifle, sending passengers diving for cover,
before all three blew themselves up in or around the arrivals hall a floor
below.
Dead bodies could be seen scattered in the road
just outside the terminal building, while video emerged showing a police
officer shooting one of the attackers, then fleeing moments before they
detonated their suicide vests.
Foreign Office officials said they were
"urgently seeking further information" after Turkey said the majority
of those killed were Turkish, but 13 foreigners were also among the victims -
three of whom were dual nationals.
Five Saudis, two Iraqis, an Iranian, Jordanian,
Tunisian, Ukrainian, Chinese and a Uzbekistan citizen were confirmed to be
among the dead as the airport reopened on Wednesday, which was declared a day
of national mourning.
It is understood the death toll does not includes
the suicide bombers.
Speaking in Brussels, David Cameron described the
attack as "hideous".
The attack at Istanbul Ataturk - Europe's third
busiest airport - is one of the deadliest in a series of suicide bombings in
Turkey, which has struggled to contain the conflict in neighbouring Syria and
an insurgency by Kurdish militants.
Paul Roos, 77, described seeing one of the
attackers "randomly shooting" in the departures hall.
Mr Roos, a South African returning to Cape Town
with his wife after a holiday in southern Turkey, said: "He was just
firing at anyone coming in front of him.
"He was wearing all black. His face was not
masked. I was 50 metres away from him.
"We ducked behind a counter but I stood up
and watched him.
"Two explosions went off shortly after one
another. By that time he had stopped shooting."
A woman named Duygu, who was at passport control
having just arrived from Germany, said she threw herself onto the floor with
the sound of the explosion.
Several witnesses also reported hearing gunfire
shortly before the attacks.
"Everyone started running away. Everywhere
was covered with blood and body parts. I saw bullet holes on the doors,"
she said outside the airport.
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said the attack
should serve as a turning point in the global fight against militant groups.
He said: "The attack, which took place
during the holy month of Ramadan, shows that terrorism strikes with no regard
for faith and values.
"The bombs that exploded in Istanbul today
could have gone off at any airport in any city around the world."
Scheduled flights from the airport were
temporarily stopped in the immediate aftermath of the attack and passengers
were taken to hotels, Turkish Airlines said, while some flights to the airport
were diverted.
British Airways passengers on flight BA680 from
London Heathrow to Ataturk were returned to the UK in the wake of the blasts.
The flight had been due to land at around 11.40pm
(9.40pm UK time), shortly after the explosions.
According to the Dogan news agency, a plane
carrying Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was landing at the airport when
the attack happened. He and his entourage were taken to an official residence.
Turkey has suffered a spate of bombings this
year, including two suicide attacks in tourist areas of Istanbul blamed on
Islamic State, and two car bombings in the capital, Ankara, which were claimed
by a Kurdish militant group.
In the most recent attack, a car bomb ripped
through a police bus in central Istanbul during the morning rush hour, killing
11 people and wounding 36 near the main tourist district, a major university
and the mayor's office.
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