Iranian Airlines Cancel Flights to Istanbul after Airport Attack
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – All flights from Iran to Turkey were suspended following a series of deadly terrorist attacks and explosions, which ripped through crowds at Istanbul Atatürk Airport, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) announced on Wednesday.
“Following the explosions in Turkey’s Istanbul airport, eight flights from the Imam Khomeini (RA) International Airport to Istanbul airport were cancelled,” Director of Public Relations Department of the CAO Reza Jafarzadeh announced.
He added that currently, no flights are operated to the Turkish airport and in case that situation gets back to normal, it will be notified to the passengers.
The explosions at Istanbul’s international airport left at least 36 people dead and 146 others injured in an attack on Tuesday evening, which officials blamed on the Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terror group.
Shortly before the blasts, assailants armed with AK-47 rifles became involved in a firefight with security and police near the airport’s x-ray security checkpoint.
The gunmen then detonated what are believed to have been suicide bombs. Three attackers died on the scene, said the Turkish prime minister, Binali Yıldırım.
Five of the dead were police officers, according to the Turkish national broadcaster TRT, which reported that at least 147 people were injured in the attack.
“No matter where the terror comes from, our country is strong enough to fight against this terror. I call on every citizen to act in unity and stand by each other,” Yıldırım said in a press conference in Istanbul.
He said that by 2.22am local time air traffic was “back to normal and flights are resumed”.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
