Onur Ant
Two explosions took place at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, causing multiple injuries, Turkey’s interior ministry said Tuesday.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the blasts or whether the airport was still open to flights. Haberturk television said the explosions were likely caused by hand grenades. State broadcaster TRT said they took place at a checkpoint for arriving passengers.
Reuters has reported that at least 10 people are dead with dozens more injured.
Ercan Ceyhan, an eyewitness speaking to CNN Turk television by phone, said the two blasts followed an exchange of gunfire between police officers and unknown men they were chasing into a parking lot.
Islamist and Kurdish militants have claimed responsibility for several recent bomb attacks in Turkey. The lira trimmed gains after the reports of the explosions and was trading at 1.3 percent higher at 2.9027 per dollar at 10:30 p.m. in Istanbul.
