1 Istanbul attacker was Russian

June 30, 2016 at 08:24

Authorities have now detained 22 people in connection with the Ataturk Airport attack, a Turkish official told CNN on Thursday.

Istanbul (CNN) [Breaking news update at 8:20 a.m.]

Turkish officials have strong evidence that the Istanbul airport attackers came from the Syrian ISIS stronghold of Raqqa and that the group's leadership was involved in the planning of the attack, a senior Turkish government source told CNN Thursday.

[Previous story, posted at 8:08 a.m.]
Istanbul airport attackers were from Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, official says

(CNN) -- The attackers who carried out Tuesday's shootings and suicide bombings at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport were from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, a Turkish official told CNN Thursday.

Turkish authorities had previously said they had indications the men were foreigners, but had not said where they came from.

Also Thursday, Turkish Interior Minister Efkar Ala announced that the death toll from the attacks had risen to 43, according to state news agency Anadolu.

While no one has yet claimed responsibility for the airport assault, Turkish authorities have said most signs point to ISIS, and CNN contributor Michael Weiss, author of "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror," said the nationalities buttress that claim.

"One of the toughest battalions in ISIS is called the Uzbek battalion," he said. "These were the guys who were essentially on the front lines guarding Falluja, the city they just lost in Iraq."

"Ask anybody inside ISIS or who's fought ISIS. People from the former Soviet Union tend to be the most battle-hardened and willing to die," he said.

Authorities have now detained 22 people in connection with the Ataturk Airport attack, a Turkish official told CNN on Thursday.

Thirteen people were taken into custody in Istanbul and nine in the coastal city of Izmir, the official said. Three of those detained were foreign nationals, state media reported.

The terrorists stormed the airport Tuesday night, opening fire and detonating explosives -- two of them at the international terminal building, and the third in a parking lot, according to officials. In addition to the 43 killed, hundreds of people were injured.

Read More (...)