At least 36 people killed and more than 140 injured in a gun and bomb attack on Istanbul's Ataturk international airport, officials say.

According to the officials, three gunmen started fire near an entry point to the terminal and blew themselves up after police fired at them.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim commented that, the early signs indicated the so-called terrorist organization Islamic State was behind the attack.

The airport has X-ray scanners at the entrance to the terminal but security checks for cars are limited, officials say.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that, the world should serve the attack as a turning point in the global fight against terrorism.

"The bombs that exploded in Istanbul today could have gone off at any airport in any city around the world," he said.

The US called the attack "heinous", and said saying America remained "steadfast in our support for Turkey".
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "We grieve for the victims. We stand by Turkey".

Associated Press reported that, an eyewitness Paul Roos, said that, "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 handgun," he said.

The Prime Minister of Belgium, Charles Michel, whose capital city suffered the bomb attacks in March, tweeted from the EU summit in Brussels:
"Our thoughts are with the victims of the attacks at Istanbul's airport. We condemn these atrocious acts of violence."

A US state department updated travel warning for Turkey, urges US citizens to "exercise heightened vigilance and caution when visiting public access areas, especially those heavily frequented by tourists."

Also Read: Deadly bombings in Brussels claimed by Islamic State

Nandini