New York: After the horrifying terror attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport that killed 36 people and left nearly 150 injured, the airport security has been beefed up with deployment of additional police officers in New York City and New Jersey.
The Port Authority of both the cities said that travellers should expect to see officers with tactical weapons patrolling at New York's John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports and at New Jersey's Newark International Airport.
Port Authority officials said they were continuing to monitor the situation in Turkey alongside federal and local officials, including the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Earlier, Turkish official says one Iranian, one Ukrainian are among victims of Istanbul airport attack.
The attack on Europe's third-busiest airport was one of the deadliest in a series of suicide bombings in recent months in Turkey, part of the US-led coalition against ISIS and struggling to contain spillover from neighbouring Syria's war.
Gunshots, screams and explosions pierced the air at Istanbul Ataturk Airport in Turkey as three terrorists armed with bombs and guns went on a rampage killing at least 36 people and injuring over 145 in an attack that has sent shockwaves around the world.
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Turkey has suffered several bombings in recent months linked to Kurdish or Islamic State militants. The bombings included two in Istanbul targeting tourists which the authorities have blamed on the Islamic State group
Though there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim of Turkey said that early indications pointed to an operation carried out by the Islamic State.
This was a horrific act of terror targeting innocent civilians,” Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. “It showed once again that terrorism is a global threat and defeating it requires global cooperation. All early indications suggest that the IS was behind the atrocity, but the investigation is ongoing.”
The attack began shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday, Turkish officials said, when two gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at a security checkpoint outside Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, one of Europe’s busiest. They then detonated their explosives, setting off two fireballs. A third attacker set off explosives in the parking lot.
With Turkey recently reaching out diplomatically to the Islamic State's sworn enemies Russia and Israel, the jihadist group appears to be trying to punish the country by hitting its already beleaguered tourism industry hard, experts say.
(With inputs from AP)
