Photo: Ilyas Akengin/AFP/Getty
[From article]
The Turkish border town of Suruç was the scene of a bloody attack that claimed at least 30 lives and left 100 wounded this morning. Suruç neighbors the famed Kurdish Syrian town of Kobani and, while Ankara has yet to confirm details, the bombing is believed to have been a suicide attack carried out by an 18-year-old female ISIS militant. The target was a gathering of leftist activists planning to cross to Kobani to help rebuild the town destroyed during the months-long ISIS siege last year.
[. . .]
The Suruç bombing also conspicuously follows a series of Turkish police operations aimed at disrupting ISIS networks and activities—operations which only got underway two weeks ago. Indeed, after almost two years without visible state action against ISIS (much to the chagrin of the United States and coalition partners), Turkey arrested 250 suspected militants all over the country. Senior officials say they wanted to bring down whole networks instead of individuals, and it took long-term covert operations to close the net on the former.
Ceren Kenar, a prominent Turkish diplomacy correspondent, recalls a senior official answering her question on why they let pro-ISIS websites operate: “How can we track ISIS sympathizers if we shut down ISIS websites?” Two of such websites were blocked last week, after the arrests.
[. . .]
It’s no secret that Turkey wants the fall of the Assad regime and is supporting a mixture of rebel groups—predominantly Islamist ones—engaged in fighting it.
[. . .]
the fall of Aleppo would not only be a severe blow to its proxies, it would also send waves of refugees into Turkey, adding to the 2 million currently residing here already.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/20/isis-bombs-turkey.html?source=socialflow&via=twitter_page&account=thedailybeast&medium=twitter
ISIS Bombs Turkey
07.20.15
Yusuf Sayman
[. . .]
The Suruç bombing also conspicuously follows a series of Turkish police operations aimed at disrupting ISIS networks and activities—operations which only got underway two weeks ago. Indeed, after almost two years without visible state action against ISIS (much to the chagrin of the United States and coalition partners), Turkey arrested 250 suspected militants all over the country. Senior officials say they wanted to bring down whole networks instead of individuals, and it took long-term covert operations to close the net on the former.
Ceren Kenar, a prominent Turkish diplomacy correspondent, recalls a senior official answering her question on why they let pro-ISIS websites operate: “How can we track ISIS sympathizers if we shut down ISIS websites?” Two of such websites were blocked last week, after the arrests.
[. . .]
It’s no secret that Turkey wants the fall of the Assad regime and is supporting a mixture of rebel groups—predominantly Islamist ones—engaged in fighting it.
[. . .]
the fall of Aleppo would not only be a severe blow to its proxies, it would also send waves of refugees into Turkey, adding to the 2 million currently residing here already.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/20/isis-bombs-turkey.html?source=socialflow&via=twitter_page&account=thedailybeast&medium=twitter
ISIS Bombs Turkey
07.20.15
Yusuf Sayman
No comments:
Post a Comment