AKIPRESS.COM - At least 36 people died and dozens more were injured late Tuesday after three suspected Islamic State terrorists blew themselves up at Ataturk International Airport, according to Turkish officials.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said three suicide bombers were responsible for the attack and all initial indications suggest the Islamic State group was behind it.

He said the attackers arrived at the airport in a taxi and blew themselves up after opening fire. Asked whether a fourth attacker might have escaped, he said authorities have no such assessment but are considering every possibility. The first reports emerged about the attack at about 10 p.m. local time Tuesday.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said 147 were hurt, the Chicago Tribune and CNN reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement that the incident “shows that terrorism strikes with no regard to faith and values" and vowed that "Turkey has the power, determination and capacity to continue the fight against terrorism until the end."

The Associated Press quoted an unnamed senior Turkish official, who verified that nearly 50 had died. But AP later revised that number to 32 and noted that the death toll could rise to close to 50.

Earlier this month a car bomb exploded in central Istanbul, killing at least 11 people. The banned Kurdish Worker’s Party was suspected of carrying out the attack, according to media reports.

In April a female suicide bomber carried out an attack in Bursa, wounding 13 people.

An explosion in December at another airport in Istanbul left one dead.

The airport remained on lockdown Tuesday, the subway system was shut down, and roads leading to the airport were closed off by police. The Federal Aviation Administration suspended flights between Istanbul and the United States.

Immediately after the blasts, images shot by bystanders and local media and aired on CNN Turk showed panicked travelers cowering in stores, ambulances wheeling the injured away, and people in tears on their cellphones. One video showed a bomber detonating himself as terrified people fled for their lives moments before the explosion.