Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Turkey says six Saudi citizens were killed in the attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, raising the death toll from an earlier report.
The Saudi Ambassador to Turkey, Adel Murdad, told the state-owned al-Ekhbariya channel on Wednesday that 27 Saudis were wounded, one critically, while 11 have already been released from treatment.
Muslim-majority Turkey is a popular tourist destination for Arabs from the Gulf, particularly during the summer months. Tuesday’s attack also comes a week before the Eid holiday, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The Saudi government says it “condemns and rejects the terrorist attack”, which has been blamed on the Islamic State (ISIS) group. The kingdom has close ties with Turkey’s government.
