Hours after Tuesday night’s suicide bombing attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, officials began focusing on ISIS as the prime culprit in the massacre that killed at least 41 people and injured hundreds more.
(FOX)- The body count was expected to keep climbing in the wake of the attack at one of the world’s busiest airports after three suicide bombers opened fire with AK-47s before blowing themselves up as police engaged them.
“The findings of our security forces point at the Daesh organization as the perpetrators of this terror attack,” Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters at the airport, using the Arabic name for ISIS. “Even though the indications suggest Daesh, our investigations are continuing.”
The attack bore hallmarks similar to the March 22 coordinated terror attacks in Brussels, in which ISIS operatives killed 32 in coordinated bombings at Zaventem airport and a nearby metro station. ISIS had not taken credit for Tuesday’s attacks at Ataturk Airport, and Ankara has battled Kurdish militants as well as ISIS.
But Turkish officials told The Associated Press and Reuters that ISIS was the prime suspect, and the Islamic State released an infographic Wednesday in which it claimed to have “covert” units in Turkey. The infographic, sent out via ISIS’ Amaq news agency, was made to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the militants establishing their so-called caliphate in areas of Syria and Iraq.
A U.S. government official told Fox News that the attack fits the profile of ISIS, which has stepped up its targeting of Turkey. The official said ISIS tends to attack internationally known targets with an economic impact, such as an airport, while the Kurdish terror group PKK generally targets Turkish military and law enforcement.