Istanbul airport attack: American man describes moment he came face to face with suicide bomber

Steven Nabil and his wife took refuge in a cupboard after attacks began

American/Iraqi journalist Steven Nabil's wife was injured during the attacks on Ataturk airport (Facebook)

A man returning from his honeymoon with his wife has described the moment he came face to face with one of the gunmen involved in the bomb attack in Istanbul that has left 41 people dead and more than 230 injured.

American-Iraqi journalist Steven Nabil and his wife were returning to New York when the attack at Ataturk airport began.

Three men arrived in a taxi and began firing at the terminal building late on Tuesday. All three detonated suicide belts after exchanging fire with police.

Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim said the co-ordinated attack pointed to Isis, though no group has come forward to claim the attack.

Mr Nabil’s wife was among those injured in the attack and the couple ran from a café to take cover inside a cupboard in a shop in the airport.

Writing on Twitter, freelance journalist Mr Nabil said he broke into a hair salon in the airport after the attack began, where he and his wife stayed for 45 minutes, saying they were “sitting ducks waiting to find out who would open the door”.

“When the bullets were closer I hugged and kissed her”, Mr Nabil said.

He said his wife had been in Café Nero while he had gone upstairs to pizza restaurant Sabbaro when the attack began.

When he heard gunshots, he said he ran back towards his wife and “came down the stairs to see the court empty and the terrorist firing toward us".

At one point the couple were “face to face with the gunman while he sprayed” bullets, Mr Nabil wrote.

“I ran back, got my wife pulled her [into the] store, broke in and waited in terror while he was shooting outside the store. We barely made it.”

While the attack continued, Mr Nabil said he begged his wife to keep calm “because the noise might draw any attackers”, and says he looked around the cupboard for potential weapons he might use if the attackers tried to get in.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack must be a turning point in tackling extremists.

“The bombs that exploded in Istanbul today could have gone off at any airport in any city around the world,” he said.