SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - The terrorist attack in Turkey sent shock waves around the globe, including in San Diego which has a large Turkish population.
It was an attack that echoed the carnage earlier this year at the Brussels airport, down to the taxi that carried the men to their target: Inciting panic and then taking lethal advantage, three suicide attackers unleashed a deadly tide of bullets and bombs at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, leaving 42 dead.
Authorities blamed the Islamic State for the blood bath late Tuesday, a coordinated assault on one of the world's busiest airports and on a key NATO ally that plays a crucial role in the fight against the extremist group.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility by the militant group.
Sinan Debre and his wife Tuba Gokcek received pictures from friends who survived the attack. Another San Diego man has eight relatives who all work at the Istanbul Airport. His nephew shared cellphone video he took showing the bloody aftermath.
One attacker detonated his explosives downstairs at the arrivals terminal, one went upstairs and blew himself up in the departure hall, and the third waited outside for the fleeing crowd and caused the final lethal blast, two Turkish officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak about the investigation publicly. None of the attackers were Turks, a third official said.
As dawn broke Wednesday, workers were removing debris from the Istanbul airport and mere hours after the terminal erupted into chaos, it reopened to flights.