Pope Francis leads moment of silence for victims of Istanbul terror attacks

Pope Francis led a moment of silent prayer for the victims of a suicide bombing attack on Istanbul's Ataturk Airport Tuesday, June 28.

The Pope prayed for the victims, families, and Turkish citizens as he called to attention Tuesday night's bombing explosion that killed 42 and injured more than 230 in one of the world's busiest airports.

"May the Lord convert the hearts of the violent, and sustain our feet on the way of peace," Vatican Radio quoted Pope Francis as saying.

He then asked the crowd gathered at St. Peter's Square on Wednesday morning for the Angelus to pray in momentary silence before reciting Hail Mary.

Tuesday's blast has just become Turkey's deadliest suicide bombing incident as the country continues to fight against the insurgent group Kurdistan Freedom Hawks as well as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) terrorist group. The Turkish authorities suspect that the three suicide bombers who opened gunfire at the airport before blowing themselves up are members of ISIL. However, the group did not yet claim responsibility for the attack.

Paul Roos, a 77-year-old South African tourist traveling home to Cape Town with his wife, claimed he saw one of the assailants as he stood 50 meters away. He described the suspect as unmasked, all clad in black, and shooting just randomly.

"We ducked behind a counter but I stood up and watched him," Roos narrated to Reuters. "Two explosions went off shortly after one another. By that time he had stopped shooting."

He also shared that the man seemed to turn anxiously as he made his way down the escalator. Roos heard more gunfire and an explosion before it all ended.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Wednesday as a national day of mourning.

"There is an attempt to turn our security forces into guilty parties, but they will not succeed in their efforts because this nation knows full well who is who," said Erdogan, as reported by Al Jazeera. "We will never forget our martyrs."