Attackers of Atatürk Airport Identified as 'Russian, Uzbek, and Kyrgyz'

An official in the Turkish government has stated that the three suicide bombers who attacked Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, killing 43 people, were from Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Initially, the number of victims was reported as 41. The high-ranking Turkish official, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP that the Turkish government will soon confirm the identities and nationalities of these individuals. The announcement of the attackers' nationalities comes as no one has officially claimed responsibility for the explosions that occurred on Tuesday night at Atatürk Airport. However, the Turkish government has pointed its finger at the Islamic State group from the outset. Meanwhile, Turkish police arrested 13 jihadists from the Islamic State group on suspicion of involvement in these explosions on Thursday morning, July 1. Police conducted 16 operations across Istanbul on Thursday. Among the thirteen arrested, three were foreigners and linked to the Islamic State group. Earlier, AFP reported that at least one of the attackers was of foreign nationality. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also provided more details on how the three attackers operated on Wednesday evening. According to him, the three arrived at the airport by taxi, and since they were unable to enter the airport building (security devices and scanners at the entrances inspect all passengers' belongings), they took automatic weapons out of their luggage and began shooting at people and passengers. Yildirim stated that one of the attackers detonated himself in the outer area of the airport building, while the other two managed to pass through the chaos and fear created and reached inside the building before detonating themselves. However, another official close to the Turkish presidency provided a different account, stating that two of the attackers detonated themselves on two separate floors, and the third attacker activated his suicide vest outside the building. The ground floor of Atatürk Airport is where newly arrived passengers exit Istanbul, while the first floor is for passengers intending to fly from this airport. Most accounts regarding these explosions indicate that the two main explosions occurred on the ground floor. The names and nationalities of the suicide bombers have not yet been definitively confirmed by Turkish officials; however, the Istanbul-based newspaper Hürriyet reports that one of the attackers was named Osman Vadinov and was from Chechnya, having reached Turkey and Atatürk Airport from Raqqa in Syria (a stronghold of ISIS in that country). The newspaper did not cite its source for this information. In the course of the shooting and suicide bombing at Atatürk Airport, the latest statistics indicate that a total of 43 people died, 19 of whom were foreign nationals. Additionally, 230 people were injured, with 94 still hospitalized. One Iranian was also found among the victims of Atatürk Airport. The explosions at the third busiest airport in Europe have been the deadliest attacks in Turkey this year.