Turkish forces detain 69 in raids after killing of 10 tourists

Turkish security forces conducted dozens of raids against suspected extremists following the killing of 10 tourists in a suicide attack in central Istanbul on Tuesday.

At least 69 suspects were detained across the country yesterday, including eight people attempting to enter Syria through Turkey’s Kilis province, three Russian citizens held at residential homes in the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya and 17 suspects in the nearby city of Adana. Others, reported as being both Turks and foreign citizens, were held in Izmir, Konya and Urfa, a city in southeast Turkey known as a hotbed for extremism.

The suicide bomber was identified by several local media sources yesterday as a Saudi Arabian-born Syrian national who applied for asylum status at a west Istanbul migration centre on January 5th last, where he provided a fingerprint sample. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, which targeted a German tour group. Past unclaimed attacks in Turkey have been blamed by the government on Isis.

Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu was accompanied at the scene of the attack by senior ministers and the mayor of Istanbul, Kadir Topbas.

Germany’s interior minister met survivors at Istanbul hospitals yesterday. Two German citizens remain in critical condition following the blast.

Confusion

However, the prime minister fuelled confusion by saying “Daesh [Isis] is an intermediary organisation”, apparently signalling his belief that another organisation or individual may have been responsible for the attack. In the aftermath of the explosion, a Turkish court banned media for covering events related to the blast.

Opposition politicians were quick to lay blame for the attack at the government’s open-door policy for Syrians. “The especially unhealthy, unplanned and random admission of Syrian refugees and their subsequent distribution inside the country have been leading to very serious social, economic and security risks,” said Devlet Bahceli, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party.

“The size of the threat is very big . . . It is seen that the AKP government hasn’t been exerting efforts to prevent this stalemate and uncontrolled developments; likewise, it has no intention for doing so either.”

Largest host country

Around 2.2 million Syrians are registered as refugees in Turkey, making it the largest host country of refugees in the world. Hundreds of thousands more live outside official supports and the 900km border between Turkey and Syria has remained largely open throughout the five years of revolt and war, despite criticism from many of Turkey’s allies.

Ankara says it is important to keep the border open for civilians fleeing Syrian government air strikes and Isis extremists.

This month, Turkey put in place restrictions on Syrians entering Turkey from third countries, following pressure from the European Union to slow the flow of refugees into Greece.

Analysts blaming Isis for the attack said it amounted to significant strategic value for the terror group that may be facing increased pressure in the coming weeks and months.

“By bringing the war to Turkey’s largest city, Isis aims to undercut the planned US-Turkish campaign against its forces in Syria, which is reportedly scheduled to begin in a matter of weeks,” wrote Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute, a think tank.

“The apparent goal of the joint plan is to capture the 60- mile-long Jarabulus-Azaz corridor along the Syrian border, most of which is currently held by Isis. If successful, the campaign would effectively plug the group’s last overland conduit from Syria into Turkey and Europe.”