The Istanbul bombing

The suicide bomber who detonated in heart of Turkish tourism industry has done damage far beyond the radius of blast

Turkey is in the frontline with respect to the ongoing battle between the Islamic State (IS) and a basket of Western nations as well as states in the Arab world. The IS has attacked Turkey at least twice in the last year; and the suicide bomber who detonated in the heart of the Turkish tourism industry, the Sultanahmet area in Istanbul, has done damage far beyond the radius of the blast. There are indications that the Turkish authorities were aware of the bomber and his origins as he was quickly identified as Syrian. The victims were mostly German tourists, at least 10 of whom died.

The Turkish government appears to have a catch-all approach to the multi-faceted problem of terrorism. It faces threats from the political left as well as the right, the Kurdish PKK and the IS. All have attacked the Turkish state at one time or another in the recent past, but all do not present the same level of threat. The fight against the PKK, which has restarted since the middle of 2015, may perhaps have meant that less attention was paid to the threat presented by the IS, and if so, this is a mistake that may not be easily rectified. Turkish sources report that the border with Syria has “been strengthened” — but the IS clearly has assets in-country and knows where to hit hardest and most effectively in terms of causing damage to the Turkish economy, of which tourism is a mainstay.

The IS has targeted tourism elsewhere, also to deadly effect and the Istanbul bombing may be repeated. The incident has to be interpreted as a security failure, and there must be a shift in focus regarding terrorist threats towards Syria and Iraq. Were this to be so, it would be welcomed by Turkey’s allies. Focusing on the threat posed by the IS, a terror group with global reach, should be of paramount importance to Turkey right now. Once again, the IS has seized control of the narrative and Turkey needs to re-swing its compass.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2016.

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