Abdalaziz Alhamza “RBSS”
A 13 years old suicide bomber carried out a bloody terrorist attack last August in an wedding party in Gaziantep, southern Turkey. ISIS did not adopt the attack but the Turkish government indicated that ISIS is the only suspect of this brutal attack, in which 50 were killed and 100 wounded.
In the last three years, Turkey was among the most important targets of ISIS attacks. Those attacks are classified into two types, first type: targeting none Turkish individuals (e.g. Germans and Israelis) in Turkey such as Sultanahmet Square bombing, Istiklal Street and Ataturk airport bombings.
The main reason of these terrorist attacks is the Turkish policy in Syria and supporting the free Syrian army along with its cooperation with the US in the International Coalition against ISIS and perhaps cooperation with Russia especially after the improvement of the relations between the two countries.
This type of attacks is increasing, as the terrorist group is trying to move the tension out of its territory in a way to prove that they are still an important player in the region.
The second type, Turkish targets. The terrorist group has used the ethnic rifts in Turkey between Kurds and Turks, for example: Suruj bombings, Diyarbakir bombings, Ankara train and recently Gaziantep attack. All these attacks are related to the battles between the terrorist group and the Kurdish troops in both Iraq and Syria.
Compared with the first type, the second type seems to last longer which is expected to cause long term consequences. Within those attacks and their associated political implications, it seems that ISIS aims to change from a foreign threat into a local one.
While ISIS is trying to solve its problems with PKK in Turkey, it is also trying to take advantage resentment against PKK in specific Kurdish areas. A large number of suicide bombers who carried out attacks against Kurdish communities are also Kurds.
Conflicts among the Kurds are not new, in 1990 Kurdish Hezbullah, which was supported by members from the Turkish deep state, entered a brutal conflict with PKK.
In 1999, and after arresting Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK leader, the PKK announced an indefinitely ceasefire. After that Turkey arrested a lot of Kurdish Hezbullah members and killed its leader in 2000.
The remnants of Hezbullah participated in the civil political process later through The Free Cause Party, which is a fierce opponent of PKK. And because the Cause party also defends Kurdish national rights, the disagreement with PKK took an ideological nature.
The PKK domination over the Kurdish political view, its sever dictatorship and its secular character created more feeling of injustice among the Islamic Kurdish parties and this is exactly what ISIS is taking advantage of.
As for solutions, we cannot see any good solution that is coming any time soon; Turkey will remain vulnerable to ISIS attacks as long as the Turkish army is getting closer to ISIS strongholds in both Iraq and Syria.
In addition to law enforcements and initiatives of combating fundamentalism, the political spectrum and the whole society should show their unity and resilience in dealing with such crises. Taking into consideration the fact that these attacks intend to create a political opposition, so both the government and the opposition should stick together as they did before the failed coup in 15 July.
Instead of representing these attacks as a tragic show in the current scene, they should turn into an effective memorial of how important the political settlement in Syria and the Kurdish case is.
