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South African Survivors Speak to Press After Istanbul Airport Attack

Two South African tourists, who were at Istanbul’s main airport Tuesday night, have spoken to international news outlets about the horrific attack by three suicide bombers, which has tragically left at least 41 dead and 239 wounded. (Updated: Wed 14:15 SA time.) According to reports by Sky News and other outlets, Paul and Susie Roos from Cape […]

By SAPeople
29-06-16 14:12
in Eish!
Istanbul

Two South African tourists, who were at Istanbul’s main airport Tuesday night, have spoken to international news outlets about the horrific attack by three suicide bombers, which has tragically left at least 41 dead and 239 wounded. (Updated: Wed 14:15 SA time.)

According to reports by Sky News and other outlets, Paul and Susie Roos from Cape Town were due to fly home at the time of the explosions at Ataturk Airport, after 10pm local time.

With hundreds of passengers in the vicinity, the explosions – reportedly at least two – killed 41 people near an entry point to the Arrivals hall according to Turkish TV.

The three suicide bombers had not yet gone through security when they launched their attack. Two were allegedly in the international airport while a third was in the parking lot.

Reports indicate that at least one bomber opened fire first, using a Kalashnikov, before detonating himself. Police allegedly returned fire with footage on Twitter showing one gunman being shot down… but he still managed to detonate his bomb. A security guard was also reportedly seen tackling a bomber to try stop him, but to no avail.

Paul and Susie Roos were allegedly “shaken” by the events they witnessed. Paul told reporters: “We came up from the arrivals to the departures, up the escalator when we heard these shots going off… 

“There was this guy going roaming around, he was dressed in black and he had a hand gun.”

Paul said the man “was just firing at anyone coming in front of him.

“He was wearing all black. His face was not masked. I was 50 metres away from him.

“We ducked behind a counter but I stood up and watched him. Two explosions went off shortly after one another.

“By that time he had stopped shooting. He turned around and started coming towards us. He was holding his gun inside his jacket.

“He looked around anxiously to see if anyone was going to stop him and then went down the escalator… we heard some more gunfire and then another explosion, and then it was over.”

ISIS has apparently claimed responsibility. It has been two years since the Caliphate, or “Khilafa”, announced on 27 June 2014.

Flights to Istanbul were turned back following the blasts, but have resumed Wednesday morning. At least 30 ambulances were apparently sent to the scene and taxis were used to ferry people to hospitals.

ISIS released a video Tuesday threatening Las Vegas and San Francisco as its next targets – please scroll down for full story.

Facebook has initiated its Safety Check feature if you would like to check if friends of yours are in the area, or report that you are – click here.

Watch Video: Istanbul, Turkey Airport Attack

On Twitter:

https://twitter.com/MatthewKick/status/747908880483618821

https://twitter.com/mc_morn/status/747906488715321344

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