TURYKEY TURMOIL This picture obtained from the Ilhas News Agency shows injured people lying on the ground next to a terminal, after two explosions followed by gunfire hit Turkey’s biggest airport of Ataturk in Istanbul. AFP PHOTO
TURYKEY TURMOIL This picture obtained from the Ilhas News Agency shows injured people lying on the ground next to a terminal, after two explosions followed by gunfire hit Turkey’s biggest airport of Ataturk in Istanbul. AFP PHOTO

ISTANBUL: A triple suicide bombing and gun attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport has killed at least 41 people, including foreigners, with Turkey’s prime minister saying early signs pointed to an assault by the Islamic State (IS) group.

The attackers began spraying bullets at the international terminal entrance before blowing themselves around 10 p.m. (1900 GMT) Tuesday, Turkish authorities said.

It is the deadliest of four attacks to rock Turkey’s biggest city this year, with two others blamed on IS and another claimed by a militant Kurdish group.

Though there was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday’s carnage, “the evidence points to Daesh,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told journalists at the scene, using another name for the jihadists.

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He said the dead included foreigners, but gave no further details.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag put the number of wounded at 239.

The attack prompted the suspension of all flights at the airport -- one of Europe’s busiest hubs.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an international “joint fight” against terror, as Western allies including the United States condemned the “heinous” attack.

Yildirim said the suicide bombers had arrived in a taxi and opened fire on passengers with automatic rifles before blowing themselves up.

Security camera footage widely circulated on social media appeared to capture two of the blasts.

In one clip, a huge ball of flame erupts at an entrance to the terminal building, scattering terrified passengers.

Another video shows a black-clad attacker running inside the building before collapsing to the ground -- apparently felled by a police bullet -- and blowing himself up.

Tuesday’s attack follows coordinated IS suicide bombings at Brussels airport and a city metro station in March that left 32 people dead.

An Agence France-Presse photographer saw bodies covered with sheets at the terminal, which bore heavy damage from the blasts.

Bullet holes peppered the windows and shattered glass lay on the floor, while abandoned luggage was scattered everywhere.

Hundreds of police and firefighters including forensic officers were at the scene.

“Somebody came and shot at us and then my sister ran,” Otfah Mohamed Abdullah said.

“Don’t know which way she ran and after that I fell down. I was on the ground till he [the gunman] stopped... I can’t find my sister.”

“I was waiting for my flight to Tokyo and suddenly people started running and I followed them. I heard gun shots and everyone was panicking,” Japanese tourist Yumi Koyi said.

There was chaos at the nearest hospital in Istanbul’s Bakirkoy district, which was inundated with relatives desperate for news of loved ones.

Yildirim visited the hospital to offer his condolences to the victims.

Brussels airport, the scene of suicide bombings just months ago, tweeted condolences, saying, “Our thoughts are with the victims of the attacks at @istanbulairport.”

Security expert Abdullah Agar told CNN Turk the attack bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group.

“It really bears a resemblance to their methods,” he said in reference to the Brussels bombings, which were claimed by IS.

The US and French consulates warned people to stay away from the area. AFP