Two explosions hit Istanbul's Atatürk Airport, 36 dead 140 injured reported

[Cherokee]

Pakistanis who have never visited Istanbul cannot visualize the city’s splendour, its heritage and the economic progress Turkey has made in the last 15 years. According to the latest World Bank Report Turkey is now the 17th largest economy of the world with GDP of about $800-billion and per capita income in excess of $10,000.
Despite the above the Turkish economy remains fragile and because of the huge current account deficit; is largely dependent on dollars inflows from Turkish migrant workers and her thriving tourist industry

It is really sad to see that Istanbul; a city I visited only a few months back and in my opinion is one of the greatest cities on the planet; is torn to pieces again. ISI may not have accepted the responsibility, but suicide being forbidden in Islam; only those inspired by the militant message of Syed Qutub and the Wahhabi/ Takfiri ideology actually practice it. Therefore this heinous act is clearly hall mark of the Daesh/ISIS activists.

Turkey always had to deal with some major socio-political problems due the disfranchised Kurdish population represented by the Kurdistan Workers Party who was constantly engaged in terrorist acts. Now with war in Syria and the emergence of more sinister ISIS; Turkey faces even greater danger.

Like all those who love Turkish people & Turkish food, I am deeply saddened by this carnage and the loss of innocent lives. Sadly, just as Wahhabi ideology mushroomed in Pakistan due to the policies of the bigot Zia during Afghan jihad; suicide bombings in Turkey are IMO direct result of Erdogan & the AKP’s incoherent policy toward the ISIS in Syria.

This appears to be a replay of the Afghan jihad & refugee influx in Pakistan only that it is now Syria and instead of 3-million Afghans, Turkey has to deal with one million Syrian refugees. However the consequences appear to be similar.

Turkey turned a blind eye to ISIS by allowing unimpeded transit of all groups opposite to the Assad regime because Erdogan’s gov't consider removal of Assad regime in the long term interest of Turkey. (Does this remind anyone of PML-N support of the Taliban in Afghanistan when they started?) Turkey even shot down a Russian plane which strayed across Turkish airspace for less the couple of minutes and posed no danger to Turkish assets.

This flawed policy allowed space to the propagators of militant ISIS brand of Islam to establish a strong network within the Turkish borders. As a result, in addition to fighting the Kurdish rebels, Turkey now has to deal with the ISI inspired terrorists who are attacking tourists as well as the Kurdish groups inside Turkey.

Regrettably; despite the fact that Wahhabi/Salafi/ Takfiri brand of Islam has thus far done little except butchering thousands of innocents who disagree with their brand of Islam; there are many in Pakistan who support them. Even the Oxford educated Imran Khan's PTI gov't in KPK has brazenly provided Rs 300-million ($30-million) grant to the nursery of Taliban. There must be also many naïve Turkish Muslims who are seduced into supporting militant Islam preached by ISIS because they think that ISIS is doing Allah's work.

Arabs have traditionally never cared much for the Turks anyway. Wahhabis were part of the Arab coalition during WW1 which sided with the English to defeat the Turks, thus it is strange that Erdogan favoured Wahhabis over the Alawite/Christian Assad regime.

ISIS by attacking the Istanbul airport has done serious harm to the Turkish tourism, which is one of main the sources of foreign exchange badly needed for the Turkish economy. It is therefore most important that Turkey uses all of her resources to eradicate the poison of ISIS ideology from their midst.

You meant ISIS .

 

[xenon54 out]

What's about the crossing of ideologies??

A bullet.

 

[Somali-Turk]

i condemn this coward ,barbaric attack,my gov and people stand with turkey on this issue,terrorist are interested only in harming civilians.

 

[xenon54 out]

The Nationalities of the three bombers revealed, Russian from Dagestan, Kirghiz and Usbek.

http://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/atatu...n-uyruklaritespit-edil,dzI-WYGnokqjmJXEFoiefw

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

The Nationalities of the three bombers revealed, Russian from Dagestan, Kirghiz and Usbek.

http://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/atatu...n-uyruklaritespit-edil,dzI-WYGnokqjmJXEFoiefw

At least they are not Turkish, it's easier to filter future attackers if they are foreigners.

 

[xenon54 out]

At least they are not Turkish, it's easier to filter future attackers if they are foreigners.

There have been Turkish collaborators that got arrested but so far no suicide bomber or any other attacker as far as i know.

About being easier, its relative, the attack happened on international flights section of the airport so a foreigner wont get noticed there either, i thinks thats also one of the reason why isis is choosing touristic places, its harder to get noticed as foreigner.

 

[Nigel Farrage]

There have been Turkish collaborators that got arrested but so far no suicide bomber or any other attacker as far as i know.

About being easier, its relative, the attack happened on international flights section of the airport so a foreigner wont get noticed there either, i thinks thats also one of the reason why isis is choosing touristic places, its harder to get noticed as foreigner.

How did they bring in bombs and guns in an airport? That is unusual.

 

[xenon54 out]

How did they bring in bombs and guns in an airport? That is unusual.

They couldnt bring it in, one exploded on the outside, the other started shooting with rifle to the people waiting in line for security check and then exploded, when staff was distracted by the two explosions the third run into the international flights terminal and started shooting but got shot by a police officer, when lying on the ground he blew himself up.

Before reaching airport there is a control for car bombs but since the terrorist had belts and were traveling by taxi they havent been detected.

 

[Nigel Farrage]

They couldnt bring it in, one exploded on the outside, the other started shooting with rifle to the people waiting in line for security check and then exploded, when staff was distracted by the two explosions the third run into the international flights terminal and started shooting but got shot by a police officer, when lying on the ground he blew himself up.

Before reaching airport there is a control for car bombs but since the terrorist had belts and were traveling by taxi they havent been detected.

All this shows lack of training among Turkish security staff. The third one should have got a head shot before he could blow himself up.

 

[xenon54 out]

All this shows lack of training among Turkish security staff. The third one should have got a head shot before he could blow himself up.

This is not counter strike, the policeman saved many lives.

 

[niaz]

You meant ISIS .

indeed ISIS. my fault

 

[CriticalThinker02]

Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rojiun.

May Allah SWT forgive their sins and grant them the highest level of jannah Ameen.

Pakistan, Turkey's brother in faith and through faith in history stands with Turkey in their hour of need.

 

[SecularNationalist]

A few months ago i have warned turkey is going to become another pakistan and we have just finished fighting this menace of suicide bombings but in turkey it,s a beginning .Just for telling this truth a turkish member on PDF insulted me and i got infraction by mods.

In 2012 on my way to saint-petersburg russia i stayed at Ataturk international airport for few hours .That was a beautiful and luxurious place with the smell of coffee,beer pubs and beautiful turkish girls around.

 

[niaz]

Completely disagree. We chose to KEEP out of the ISIS mess in Syria/Iraq. Our focus is and has always been PKK threat because we can't risk to openly fight two terror cells at the same time. Why should Turkey carry the burden of USA+UK's fuckup in Middle East aka distability leading to terror cells that grew to Islamic State - tell me this?

Naturally our focus is PKK and seperatists movement in Turkey - that is until recently. Now it is open that ISIS has declared war upon us as well and now we have to deal with them as well.

If you think our foreign policy has been a failure related to ISIS, tell me what could or should we have done and what should we do now?

Honourable Zulkarneyn.

I have been in the Oil industry for the last 40 years and still am connected with it. I have across quite a few incidents of ‘spurious origin oil’ exported out of Turkey. The following is an an excerpt from the research paper along with the reference link.

Quote:

he sale of oil products by ISIS garners about $500 million/year. The US led multinational coalition has pledged to destroy ISIS. Its strategy includes depriving ISIS of financial support. Allegations abound that Turks are engaged in oil trade with ISIS. Additionally, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family are allegedly implicated. Erdogan takes these charges seriously. He promised “to vacate his post of Turkey’s presidency if the claims are substantiated by concrete evidence.”

The Program on Peace-building and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights appointed a team of researchers in the United States, Europe, and Turkey to investigate the allegations. Researchers focus on secondary media sources. This research paper cites relevant reports.

Smugglers transport oil using a variety of means, generating significant revenues for ISIS. Smuggled oil finds its way into Turkey’s export facilities and onto tankers in Ceyhan bound for international markets. There is no “smoking gun” linking the Government of Turkey or Erdogan directly to ISIS oil sales. It is apparent, however, that Turkey turned a blind eye to ISIS oil trade. Turkey failed to seal its border, facilitating ISIS oil exports. Turks have profited at stages of the supply chain.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-l-phillips/research-paper-turkey-isi_b_8808024.html

Unquote.

A news story from CNN.

Quote

Also, last fall the Turkish government negotiated the release of 49 hostages captured by ISIS from the Turkish Consulate in Mosul, Iraq, including the consul-general.

So what did ISIS get in return for releasing the hostages? Could Turkey have made a nonaggression pledge to the terrorist group in exchange for getting its citizens back?

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/12/middleeast/turkey-isis-q--a/

Unquote.

The following from the Guardian.

Quote

Turkey paying a price for Erdoğan's wilful blindness to Isis threat


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/29/turkey-pays-price-erdogan-blindness-to-isis-threat

Unquote.

And finally:

Quote

Turkey’s six deadly sins

That’s when Turkey committed what I see as its first sin. The country began to provide support to moderate Syrian rebels like the Free Syrian Army to topple Assad. It was later revealed that Turkey also supported more radical groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and transferred weapons to others to oust Assad.

Meanwhile a new radical movement was maturing in Iraq. It was known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq, before rolling out in Syria and becoming ISIS. As ISIS got stronger, elements from the Free Syrian Army joined its ranks as well as those of others such as al-Nusra. Ahmet Davutoglu, the architect of “zero problems” foreign policy, called it “a group of angry young men” in 2014, spectacularly discounting their cause and capabilities — committing the second sin. ISIS had occupied the Turkish Consulate in Mosul, Iraq that same year, taking 49 consulate staff hostage and not releasing them until 101 days later. A Turkish daily revealed in 2015 that Turkey had transferred arms to ISIS.

Third, Turkey did not tighten border controls on its southern border until late 2015. By that time ISIS had already established itself in Syria and in southeastern Turkey. The city of Adiyaman became a well-known hub for ISIS militants. The reports suggest that at least two terror attacks that took place in Turkey last year can be traced back to this hub.

By August 2014, the international community had realized the severity of the power vacuum in Syria and how it facilitated the reincarnation of Islamic terrorism. Although the United States was initially reluctant to lead the global effort to curb ISIS, it later decided to take initiative only to find out that Turkey’s preferences were simply misaligned with the Obama administration’s. Thanks to the power vacuum, the Kurds living in the northeast provinces of Syria not only declared their autonomy, but also proved to be the most effective element in the region to fight against ISIS. They took Kobane back from ISIS, demonstrating their ability to engage in armed resistance. The United States therefore thought Kurds would make a powerful proxy to fight against ISIS, while Turkey saw them as the top threat against its own national security. The wave of sympathy that the Syrian Kurds receivedbecame a concern for Ankara, which later committed the fourth sin: engaging inairstrikes against the Kurds in northern Syria in October 2014.

The rest is history. Turkey’s aggression toward the Kurds disappointed the United States and others in the West. While the West was counting on Turkey’s commitment to eradicate ISIS, Turkey chose to go after the Kurds and Assad instead. Eventually, Turkey’s behavior raised questions about its willingness to curb the terrorist group at all, undermining its credibility in NATO as well as in Washington. (That’s sin #5.)

By the time Russia intervened to cushion the Syrian regime, Turkey was fighting allegations of giving material support to ISIS, including by purchasing oil from the organization. When Turkey downed the Russian jet (sin #6), the country was already on the blacklist of the international community for turning a blind eye to Islamic radicalism brewing in its backyard. Indeed, ISIS committed four other heinous attacks in Istanbul, Ankara and the south eastern city of Sanliurfa in the last 12 months.

https://newrepublic.com/article/134766/turkey-paying-foreign-policy-sins-past


Unquote

Like most people I simply read the news from the international press.

My post contains what in my view are the reasons as to why scum of the earth ISIS were able to perpetrate this crime. I could however be very wrong as I have no way of knowing for certain that all or any of the above is correct. The fact however remains that Turkey faces a serious threat to her peace & stability from ISIS.

 

[xenon54 out]

@Sinan i brought my uncle to the airport today, there were heavily armed military personnel patrolling, the shock of Istanbul even hit here (Switzerland/France border), a place with no terrorist attack on its record, imagine the magnitude of international terrorism.