ISTANBUL – Three attackers with suicide vests detonated their explosives at the entrance of Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport, killing at least 31 people and wounding 60 more, Turkish officials said Tuesday night.
Police manning a checkpoint at the airport’s international terminal shot at the attackers as they approached, a Turkish official said. The attackers detonated their bombs and were also killed. Footage broadcast by Turkish media showed at least one blast inside the terminal. Other images showed panicked travelers fleeing and debris strewn across the terminal and parking garage.
The majority of the casualties are Turkish citizens, “but there are foreign nationals” both killed and wounded, the official said.
Outside the airport, stranded passengers hauled their luggage as they were evacuated from the terminal. Some travelers cried and embraced each other. One woman stood outside with a sign bearing the name of a missing passenger. Ambulances raced in and out of the area, sirens wailing.
Flights in and out of the airport were suspended after the attack.
Istanbul’s Ataturk airport is one of the busiest in the world.
This looks like a major co-ordinated assault, the BBC’s Mark Lowen reports.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the attack, calling for a “joint fight” against terrorism.
President Obama’s assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism, Lisa Monaco, briefed the president on the attack, a White House official said. The U.S. Consulate in Istanbul said it was working to determine if U.S. citizens are among the victims. 
 “We stand in solidarity with our NATO ally Turkey in combating the threat of terrorism,” said State Department spokesman Mark Toner. “Sadly, this murderous attack is only the latest in a series of attacks aimed at killing and maiming innocent civilians. “
Charles Michel, the Prime Minister of Belgium whose capital city was targeted by bombers in March, tweeted from the EU summit in Brussels: “Our thoughts are with the victims of the attacks at Istanbul’s airport. We condemn these atrocious acts of violence.”
More than 61 million passengers travelled through Ataturk airport in 2015.

Source: Washington Post, BBC,  29 June 2016.