ISTANBUL, June 29, 2016(Xinhua) -- Two passengers hug each other at Istanbul's Ataturk airport in Turkey on June 29, 2016. The Ataturk airport in Istanbul resumed business early Wednesday morning with boosted security, following hours of mess and chaos that ensued from a series of suicide bombing attacks. (Xinhua/He Canling)
WASHINGTON, June 29 (Xinhua) -- After the deadly attack at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan warned in an interview published on Wednesday that the Islamic State (IS) wants to conduct similar attacks in the United States.
"I am worried from the standpoint of an intelligence professional who looks at the capabilities of Daesh ... and their determination to kill as many as people as possible and to carry out attacks abroad," said Brennan in an interview with Yahoo News, referring to an acronym for the group in the Arabic language.
"I'd be surprised if Daesh is not trying to carry out that kind of attack in the United States," said Brennan.
At least 41 people were killed and more than 200 others injured in explosions that hit Ataturk Airport on Tuesday.
Turkish media reported that Turkey's intelligence units sent a warning letter to related state institutions about potential attacks by the Islamic State (IS) militants nearly 20 days ago.
Hande Firat, CNNTurk's representative in Ankara, said on a live broadcast that Ataturk Airport was listed as a potential target in the letter.
As of now, no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
While he did not confirm that IS was behind the attack on Tuesday, Brennan said that choosing suicide bombing as the method of attack "is usually more a Daesh technique."
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