Around 10 p.m. local time on Tuesday, a series of explosions and gunfire rocked the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey's largest airport.
After a long night of investigations, the police are finally putting together a clear picture of the nature of the terrorist attack and the damage done by the attackers.
Although initial reports indicated two assailants; that number has now risen to three.
According to the BBC, police returned fire on two assailants who had approached the international terminal. One suspect was reportedly armed with an automatic rifle. The two assailants had targeted different sections of the terminal: one on the ground floor for arrivals, the second on the second floor for departures.
Once overwhelmed, the assailants detonated their explosive vests.
Neither suspect was able to break the security line, which is just inside the entrance to the terminals. Both assailants were stopped while trying to pass through security.
Earlier reports that there was an explosion outside of the domestic terminal were proven false. Another bomb was set off at the airport in the parking garage outside of the international terminal, but it is not yet clear what caused that explosion.
Al Arabiya, the Turkey’s national news station, reported that at least 36 were killed and more than 150 people were injured during the attack. Other news sources, including the Telegraph, have stated that the casualties number in the 40s, and that as many as 240 were injured.
Ataturk airport is the third largest airport in Europe, and 11th in the world; it served 61.3 million passengers in 2015. In response to the increasing number of passengers, the Ataturk airport had added additional security, and was considered to be one of the safest airports.
The attack occurred at prime time for the international terminal, due to the high number of inbound flights and departing passengers.
No terrorist groups have taken responsibility for the attack. But because the bombing occurred on the two-year anniversary of the restitution of the caliphate by ISIS, and has tell-tale-signs of an ISIS attack, many analyst are casting the blame on ISIS. The group rarely claims responsibility for attacks against Turkey and has a habit of attacking airports. Additionally, the Ataturk attackers used a “marauding terrorist firearm attack” that has been an ISIS trademark since the Mumbai attack back in 2008.
Updates will be added as new information comes to light.