Avoiding civilian casualties or protecting civilians really doesn't seem at all part of the strategy of any of the parties in the now three-way war among the Turkish state, the PKK, and ISIS. TAK, the PKK subdivision responsible for the 2/17 and 3/13 car bombings in Ankara, has explained that the reason they killed 37 random mostly random people in the latter attack was that their operatives were trying to drive into a police outpost to detonate themselves but then were cut off on the street by a transit bus after the police spotted them, so the operatives were obliged to just blow themselves up and kill a busload of civilians. Oh well.
The press is now reporting that the suicide bomber of this morning's attack in İstanbul is Savaş Yıldız. Yıldız is a Turkish citizen known to have re-entered the country from ISIS territory in October 2015 and has been connected to the suicide bomber who kind of kicked off this whole shit show by killing a bunch of youth activists in Suruç last summer (they were part of the same cell originating in Adiyaman in eastern Turkey). The leftist opposition newspaper Birgün reported in 2 different articles back in November that he was traveling around the country freely using his govt insurance card at doctors' offices and pharmacies.
The author of the article above was arrested for insulting the president in December*, showing the government's priorities, whereas no greater effort was apparently made to catch Yıldız. There are now reports in the Turkish media that he used that same ID card in a pharmacy in Istanbul yesterday.
Fuat Avni, a mysterious Twitter whistleblower who seems sometimes to have insight into government plans, tweeted "'The plan of the path to the presidential system passing through chaos is being implemented. 'The more explosions the more support,' they are saying."
At risk of getting really pulled into the conspiracy theory realm, it is worth noting that a pro-govt newspaper article claims Yıldız was a former member of the leftist, super secular utranationalist DHKP-C back in 2007, which is at the opposite end of the ideological spectrum as ISIS, though it shares with ISIS the methods of assassinations and suicide bombings and the accusation of being heavily infiltrated by Turkish intelligence services. When DHKP-C conveniently killed a prosecutor who was investigated the death of a 15-year-old killed by a police teargas canister during the Gezi Park protests, for example, anti-government conspiracy theorists went nuts.
Geez am I becoming a conspiracy theory nut myself? The way allegiances weirdly cross and official stories and excuses never fully make sense (back in October PM Davutoglu said it a TV interview that the govt had a list of possible suicide bombers, "However, legal action cannot be taken until the realization of the criminal act" because Turkey is a nation of law; then they arrested a bunch of professors for signing a petition) could bring it out in anyone.
*The AKP Eyüp Municipality Women's Promotion and Media Unit Director İrem Aktaş tweeted that she wished the Israeli tourists who had been wounded in this morning's bombing had died. A few hours later she got her wish with one of them. I wonder if she will be tried for her insults.
NEXT DAY UPDATE: Savaş Yıldız has disappeared from the headlines; now it is Mehmet Öztürk from Gaziantep, also ISIS but with no connect apparently to Adiyaman group.
The press is now reporting that the suicide bomber of this morning's attack in İstanbul is Savaş Yıldız. Yıldız is a Turkish citizen known to have re-entered the country from ISIS territory in October 2015 and has been connected to the suicide bomber who kind of kicked off this whole shit show by killing a bunch of youth activists in Suruç last summer (they were part of the same cell originating in Adiyaman in eastern Turkey). The leftist opposition newspaper Birgün reported in 2 different articles back in November that he was traveling around the country freely using his govt insurance card at doctors' offices and pharmacies.
The author of the article above was arrested for insulting the president in December*, showing the government's priorities, whereas no greater effort was apparently made to catch Yıldız. There are now reports in the Turkish media that he used that same ID card in a pharmacy in Istanbul yesterday.
Fuat Avni, a mysterious Twitter whistleblower who seems sometimes to have insight into government plans, tweeted "'The plan of the path to the presidential system passing through chaos is being implemented. 'The more explosions the more support,' they are saying."
At risk of getting really pulled into the conspiracy theory realm, it is worth noting that a pro-govt newspaper article claims Yıldız was a former member of the leftist, super secular utranationalist DHKP-C back in 2007, which is at the opposite end of the ideological spectrum as ISIS, though it shares with ISIS the methods of assassinations and suicide bombings and the accusation of being heavily infiltrated by Turkish intelligence services. When DHKP-C conveniently killed a prosecutor who was investigated the death of a 15-year-old killed by a police teargas canister during the Gezi Park protests, for example, anti-government conspiracy theorists went nuts.
Geez am I becoming a conspiracy theory nut myself? The way allegiances weirdly cross and official stories and excuses never fully make sense (back in October PM Davutoglu said it a TV interview that the govt had a list of possible suicide bombers, "However, legal action cannot be taken until the realization of the criminal act" because Turkey is a nation of law; then they arrested a bunch of professors for signing a petition) could bring it out in anyone.
*The AKP Eyüp Municipality Women's Promotion and Media Unit Director İrem Aktaş tweeted that she wished the Israeli tourists who had been wounded in this morning's bombing had died. A few hours later she got her wish with one of them. I wonder if she will be tried for her insults.
NEXT DAY UPDATE: Savaş Yıldız has disappeared from the headlines; now it is Mehmet Öztürk from Gaziantep, also ISIS but with no connect apparently to Adiyaman group.
For the first time i am worried about you being there.
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