{At least 36 people died leaving more than 140 injured in a bomb-raid carried at Atatürk International Airport, Istanbul, Turkey last night when suicide bombers attacked at around 22:30 pm .}
Atatürk is the largest Turkish airport and the 11th across the world. Through her twitter account, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Louise Mushikiwabo has expressed condolences to Turkey.
“Heartfelt solidarity with Turkey in the wake of Istanbul airport blast tonight,” she tweeted.
As Al Jazeera ,Arab based medium reported ,Politicians around the world have expressed shock and condemnation of the outrageous act.
Turkish officials said Tuesday evening’s attack the airport was likely to have been carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq of the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.
No group has claimed responsibility.
“The attack, which took place during the holy month of Ramadan, shows that terrorism strikes with no regard for faith and values,” Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement.
“If states, as all humanity, fail to join forces and wage a joint fight against terrorist organisations, all the possibilities that we dread in our minds will come true one by one.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the “terrorist attack” and called for the perpetrators to be identified and brought to justice.
In the US, White House spokesman Josh Earnest expressed Washington’s “steadfast support” for Turkey in the wake of the attack, while US Secretary of State John Kerry said: “This is daily fare and that’s why I say the first challenge we need to face is countering non-state, violent actors.”
Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said in a statement that “all Americans stand united with the people of Turkey against this campaign of hatred and violence”.
“Today’s attack in Istanbul only strengthens our resolve to defeat the forces of terrorism and radical jihadism around the world,” she said. “And it reminds us that the United States cannot retreat.”
Her rival Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, said the threat of attacks “has never been greater.”
“We must take steps now to protect America from terrorists, and do everything in our power to improve our security to keep America safe,” he said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Turkey said at least seven Saudis were injured in the attack and all were in stable condition.
European Union leaders on Tuesday held a summit on Britain’s departure from the bloc in Brussels, where two suicide bombs ripped through the Belgian capital’s airport in March, killing 16 people.
ISIL claimed responsibility for that attack, as well as a subsequent explosion at a Brussels metro station that killed 16 more people.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel tweeted from the meeting:
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was shocked by the news.
“We grieve for the victims and with the relatives. We stand by Turkey.”
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