These Are The People Who Lost Their Lives In Istanbul's Airport Attack

Turkey observed a day of national mourning this week to grieve the nearly four dozen people who died in a triple suicide bombing on June 28 at the country's largest airport. 

Turkish officials blamed the attack at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on the Islamic State militant group, and detained 22 suspects  in police raids. No group has claimed responsibility.

The death toll has risen to 44 people, including 19 foreign nationals from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, China, Iran, Ukraine and Jordan, among others, and not counting the three perpetrators. Hundreds more people were injured.

With flags at half-staff across Turkey, some victims have already received funerals .

Here are some of the people who lost their lives in the airport massacre:

Ferhat Akkaya, 42

Ferhat Akkaya was at the airport to bid farewell to a friend who was going on a trip, according to The Wall Street Journal . Akkaya, whose funeral was held Thursday, left behind three children, The Associated Press reports.

Hüda Amiri, 8; Kerime Amiri, 24; Meryem Amiri, 14; Zehra Amiri, 16

Hüda Amiri was killed outside the airport terminal while waiting for a taxi after returning from a family trip, according to CNN . Her three aunts, Kerime, Meryem and Zehra, died during the attacks as well. Amiri's grandmother and another aunt were wounded.

"She was very lovely," Hüda's father reportedly said Thursday while standing next to the girl's casket. "I lost her."

The eldest aunt had been preparing for her upcoming wedding, NPR reports, which is why her family was traveling.

Ertan An, 39

Ertan An, a translator, was at the airport to accompany a tourist group. He left behind a child and pregnant wife, the BBC  and AP report. A Facebook profile that appears to be An's shows that he was originally from Istanbul.

Gülen Bahadr

Gülen Bahadr was fatally shot while working at the airport. 

"What has my daughter done to them?" Bahadr's mother wept at her funeral Wednesday. The Associated Press  reports that Bahadir was 28, while the BBC says she was 21.

In a Facebook post just days before her death, Bahadr spoke out against war and evil. Her Facebook profile suggests she studied engineering in university.

Fathi Bayoudh, 58

Fathi Bayoudh, a Tunisian military doctor, was waiting for his wife at the airport. He'd come to Turkey in search of his son, who'd left home to join the Islamic State. The New York Times reports that Anouar Bayoudh, 26, eventually turned himself in to Turkish authorities, while the BBC reports that Anouar was detained. Bayoudh had reportedly spent weeks in Turkey trying to secure freedom for his son. His wife was not hurt in the bombing.

Mustafa Bykl, 51

Mustafa Bykl was one of three taxi drivers who were killed, the AP reports. He left behind three children.

"There is no justice," Bykl's daughter, Oznur Buzakci, said. At Bykl's memorial service, his coffin was wrapped in a Turkish flag.

 Abdülhekim Bugda, 24

Abdülhekim Bugda had recently started a job as a ground service worker at the airport, according to the AP . When gunshots first erupted Tuesday, he used Facebook to assure family and friends that he was safe, but at some point later he was killed.

“In the morning, we received the news that he [had been] severely injured and hospitalized,” relative Adil Batur reportedly told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency. “We went to the hospital and he had died. How did he get there? ... We still can’t understand this.”

According to Bugda's Facebook profile , he was from Istanbul.

Zeynep Çizmeciolu, Mahmut Çizmeciolu

Zeynep Çizmeciolu and Mahmut Çizmeciolu, who were married, both worked at the airport, the Turkish outlet Hurriyet Daily News reports. Many friends paid their respects on Facebook.

Çalayan Çöl, 27

Çalayan Çöl worked as a ground service employee at the airport. He moved to Istanbul after studying biology, the AP notes. Çöl was killed while waiting for a bus home.

Muhammed Eymen Demirci, 25

Muhammed Eymen Demirci had recently started working for the airport's ground service department to help pay for his sisters' education, according to the AP .

"He was such a friendly person, a man who fought for his ideals," one of Demirci's friends told the wire service. "Now I wish he hadn't gotten the job."

The BBC reports that Demirci aspired to be a journalist.

Erol Eskisoy, 44

Seyfullah Dikbuyuk, a friend of taxi driver Erol Eskisoy, described Eskisoy as a "good man" who was humble and didn't care about money, according to the AP . Eskisoy's Facebook profile notes that he was from Istanbul.

Murat Güllüce

Murat Güllüce worked as a translator in a hotel, CNN reports. The AP says he worked as a hotel manager and had four daughters whom he called "princesses" on social media. He had been planning to fly to Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

Güllüce's Facebook profile  says he was from Erzurum, a city in eastern Turkey.

Nsreen Hashem Hammad, 28

Nsreen Hashem Hammad was a teacher from Saudi Arabia who left behind a husband and a 4-year-old daughter, both of whom were injured in the attack, the International Middle East Media Center reports.

Turkish Minute reports that the teacher’s surname was Shammad, not Hammad. CNN  gives her age as 26, not 28.

Yusuf Haznedarolu, 32

Yusuf Haznedarolu of Turkey had been planning to marry his fiancée, Nilsu Ozmeric, in early July. He worked for the airport's ground service department, the AP notes, and died from injuries sustained during the attacks. The BBC reports that Haznedarolu was shot dead in a parking area.

"If he had stayed in the terminal building maybe he would have survived," Ozmeric's mother told reporters. 

Haznedarolu's Facebook profile says he was from Ankara, Turkey.

Özgül Ide, 21

Özgül Ide graduated from the tourism and hotel management department at Istanbul's Arel University, according to the AP . She'd started working for the airport's ground service department a few months ago.

Ide's Facebook profile lists Istanbul as her hometown.

Göksel Kurnaz, 38

Göksel Kurnaz left behind a wife and two children. He worked as a private security guard, the BBC reports, and was at the airport to meet his boss.

Kurnaz's Facebook profile states that he was from Kazancl, Ordu, Turkey.

Adem Kurt, 32

Turkish citizen Adem Kurt was an airport employee for almost two years, the AP notes. He frequently visited his family in the northwestern Turkish province of Bursa.

Nisreen Melhim, 28

Nisreen Melhim was about to go on vacation with her husband and 3-year-old daughter, the AP reports.

"The explosion went off. I found my wife bleeding and my daughter too," Melhim's husband, Marvan, later said. "The ones who did this are brutal criminals."

Mahmut Mert

Mahmut Mert worked for Turkish Airlines, the Daily Mirror  reports.

Yasin Ocal, 25

Yasin Ocal was mortally wounded in the attack, and died in the hospital on Thursday, according to Andalou Agency , which gives his age as 25. Australia’s ABC News reports that Ocal worked at the airport and was 26. The network says he had been married for just a year.

Sadk Petek, 47

Sadk Petek was a ground service employee at the airport, CNN reports.

Umut Sakarolu, 31

Umut Sakarolu was a customs officer, according to NPR . He was killed while trying to shoot one of the suicide bombers, according to multiple sources.

“My nephew fired at the terrorist first,” Sakarolu’s aunt reportedly told Anadolu Agency. “He tried to kill him. After that, the terrorist fell down on the floor, pulled the pin and detonated the bomb.” Sakarolu has been posthumously hailed as a hero for his bravery.

Ercan Sebat, 41

“They’ve torn out my lungs,” Ercan Sebat's weeping mother said at his funeral, the AP reports. “They tore to pieces my rose of a son, they dashed my spirit!”

According to a Facebook page set up in his honor, Sebat was an artist who often drew portraits. Many people paid their respects online.

Habibullah Sefer, 24

In the photo above, relatives of Habibullah Sefer pay their respects beside his coffin in Istanbul on Thursday. Sefer had recently graduated from college, NPR reports. He was from Uzbekistan, according to CNN , which gives his age as 26.

Sondos Shraim, 25; Rayan Shraim, 3

Sondos Shraim and her son, Rayan, who were Palestinian, were in Turkey for a vacation. Shraim's husband was wounded by the blasts, according to NPR . Also killed in the blast was a family friend, Nisreen Melhim, who was traveling with her husband and 3-year-old daughter, the AP reports.

Larisa Tsybakova, 46

Larisa Tsybakova, a Ukranian, was on vacation with her husband and son, according to the BBC . She died from severe blood loss after her leg was wounded in the terror attacks.

Hüseyin Tunç, 28

Hüseyin Tunç worked as a teacher to help pay for his siblings' education, notes the AP . His funeral was held on Thursday in Istanbul.

"He grew up without a father. I brought him up against all odds. We were picking breadcrumbs from streets," Tunç's mother said at his funeral, according to the BBC . "No mother should feel this pain."

Siddik Turgan, 67

In the photo above, Siddik Turgan’s daughter cries out as her father’s coffin is carried away at his funeral on Wednesday. Turgan was a Turkish citizen of Afghan origin, notes CNN , and a father to two daughters.

Serkan Türk, 24

Serkan Türk, a recent university graduate, reportedly died while attempting to help other victims.

"Serkan was a good person," his friend Hakan Dagdeviren said. "From what I've learned he had rushed to the site of the first explosion to help the wounded. He died in the second explosion."

Türk worked as a physical education teacher, the BBC reports.

Abrorjon Ustabayev, 22

Abrorjon Ustabayev of Uzbekistan was a trader and frequent visitor to Turkey.

“He loved Turkey and had many dreams,” his friend Kemal Han reportedly said. “Terrorism destroyed both those dreams and his love of Turkey.”

Ethem Uzunsoy, 53

Ethem Uzunsoy was a ground service worker at the airport, the BBC reports. His Facebook profile notes that he was from Istanbul.

Merve Yigit, 22

Merve Yigit was a student and a caterer at the airport. She died of her injuries the night after the attack, the AP reports.

"This time the pain is so different. No words for it," one of her friends reportedly wrote on Twitter. "May you be in lights my beautiful friend. May you have the best place in heaven."

Ali Zülfikar Yorulmaz, 48

Ali Zülfikar Yorulmaz worked as a taxi driver, according to Hurriyet Daily News .

This is an updated version of an article that first appeared on June 30.

CORRECTION: This article originally misstated Fathi Bayoudh's reason for being at the airport the night of June 28. He was meeting his wife, not picking up his son. This article has also been updated to include Iran among the countries of nationality of the victims.