Istanbul terror attack once again brought into focus the audacity and ease with which ISIS can hit any country.
Three heavily armed terrorist entered Istanbul Ataturk Airport on Tuesday 28 June 2016 and started indiscriminate firing.
Two terrorists entered the international terminal, and the third terrorist ran in the nearby parking lot reports CNN. All three detonated suicide vests.
There were two massive explosions and the shock wave reverberated throughout the airport. It was followed by a third explosion after one minute which happened inside the terminal.
According to the latest news, the death toll in the gun and the suicide attack has risen to 41.
It includes 13 foreign nationals. More than 239 persons have been injured in the assault, and many are in a critical condition raising fears that the death toll could be much higher.
The three terrorist had arrived in a Taxi and began firing when they entered the terminal. A scramble followed, and the three terrorists blew themselves up when they were challenged by security forces.
The attack was sudden and was least expected. Turkey had been a reluctant partner in the ongoing conflict with ISIS and the international community.
The attack had all the characteristic of being carried out by ISIS though the group has not claimed responsibility for the assault. ISIS, which is on the back foot after a series of defeats at the hands of its rivals that includes Iraqi Army supported by Shia Militia and Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan.
Turkey is a model of secularism, an oasis of peace and stability among Islamic countries. ISIS is adopting the same tactic which it took in Iraq when it carried out some of the worst terror attacks on the majority Shia community.
It led to a cataclysmic rift on ethnic lines in the region with Daesh representing the Sunni sect opposed by Shia and other militias who are supported by Iran and Western nations.
Daesh, which is the Arabic name for ISIS, considers Turkey’s secular and democratic contours as un-Islamic, and the latest attack is seen as a ploy to tear the secular fabric of Turkish society.
