A coordinated suicide bombing and shooting at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport killed 45 people and injured over 230, one of Turkey's deadliest terrorist attacks.
Key Facts
- Date
- 28 June 2016
- Attackers killed
- 3
- Other fatalities
- 45
- Injured
- more than 230
- Target
- International terminal, Terminal 2, Atatürk Airport
- Suspected perpetrators
- ISIL operatives from Russia and Central Asia
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Turkish authorities had intensified pressure against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the period preceding the attack. ISIL reportedly directed three operatives, believed to have originated from Russia and Central Asia and to have entered Turkey from ISIL-controlled Syria, to carry out a mass-casualty operation at one of Europe's busiest airports.
On 28 June 2016, three attackers armed with automatic weapons and explosive belts launched a simultaneous assault on the international terminal of Atatürk Airport in Istanbul. The gunmen opened fire before detonating their suicide vests, killing forty-five people and wounding more than 230. No group formally claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attack prompted Turkish authorities to restrict internet access nationwide in its immediate aftermath. It intensified scrutiny of Turkey's border security and its relationship with ISIL, and contributed to broader international concern about the group's capacity to conduct large-scale strikes beyond its Syrian and Iraqi strongholds.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent