Politics
Turkey: Kurdish militants behind deadly bomb attacks, says expert
Rome, 28 July (AKI) - The deadly bombings in Istanbul bear the hallmark of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) from the type of explosives used to the deliberate targeting of civilians, a leading expert told Adnkronos International on Monday.
Fadi Hakura, associate fellow from the London-based thinktank, Chatham House, told AKI he was "not surprised" to learn that the PKK has denied Sunday's twin bombings that killed 17 and injured over 150 people.
No group has so far claimed responsibility the blasts.
"The PKK has deliberately targeted civilians in its attacks on tourist resorts in Turkey, and has tried to blame these on the renegade Kurdish Freedom Falcons group," Hakura said.
Although the attacks came amid a legal bid to close down Turkey's ruling Islamist-rooted AKP party and ban its top officials from politics for five years, Hakura doubted that any group other than the PKK had carried out the attacks.
"Islamist groups in Turkey have tended to go for Western targets," he pointed out.
Sunday's Istanbul bombings targeted the middle-class Gungoren district of Istanbul, a busy shopping and eating area.
Earlier on Sunday, the Turkish military stated its warplanes had "successfully hit" 13 PKK targets in northern Iraq.
The Turkish military has carried out "sustained and significant" attack on PKK bases in northern Iraq since the Turkish government struck a deal last November with the backing of US President George W. Bush, Hakura said.
"Since it began its violent campaign in 2004, the PKK has waged urban warfare in attacks using landmines and plastic explosives that are widely available in northern Iraq," he noted.
"The PKK is highly organised and has adopted very similar tactics to Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq."
But US-based Turkey expert, Michael Gunter, Professor of Political Science at Tennessee Technological University, disagreed that the PKK was behind the Istanbul bombings.
"I doubt it's the PKK. It has spawned a number of different factions. With certain exceptions, the PKK does not take their struggle to innocent parties," he told AKI.
"There are a number of different suspects and Sunday's bombings in Istanbul indicate instability in Turkey," Gunter concluded.
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the attacks were a "cost" of the military campaign against the PKK based in northern Iraq.
Fadi Hakura, associate fellow from the London-based thinktank, Chatham House, told AKI he was "not surprised" to learn that the PKK has denied Sunday's twin bombings that killed 17 and injured over 150 people.
No group has so far claimed responsibility the blasts.
"The PKK has deliberately targeted civilians in its attacks on tourist resorts in Turkey, and has tried to blame these on the renegade Kurdish Freedom Falcons group," Hakura said.
Although the attacks came amid a legal bid to close down Turkey's ruling Islamist-rooted AKP party and ban its top officials from politics for five years, Hakura doubted that any group other than the PKK had carried out the attacks.
"Islamist groups in Turkey have tended to go for Western targets," he pointed out.
Sunday's Istanbul bombings targeted the middle-class Gungoren district of Istanbul, a busy shopping and eating area.
Earlier on Sunday, the Turkish military stated its warplanes had "successfully hit" 13 PKK targets in northern Iraq.
The Turkish military has carried out "sustained and significant" attack on PKK bases in northern Iraq since the Turkish government struck a deal last November with the backing of US President George W. Bush, Hakura said.
"Since it began its violent campaign in 2004, the PKK has waged urban warfare in attacks using landmines and plastic explosives that are widely available in northern Iraq," he noted.
"The PKK is highly organised and has adopted very similar tactics to Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq."
But US-based Turkey expert, Michael Gunter, Professor of Political Science at Tennessee Technological University, disagreed that the PKK was behind the Istanbul bombings.
"I doubt it's the PKK. It has spawned a number of different factions. With certain exceptions, the PKK does not take their struggle to innocent parties," he told AKI.
"There are a number of different suspects and Sunday's bombings in Istanbul indicate instability in Turkey," Gunter concluded.
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the attacks were a "cost" of the military campaign against the PKK based in northern Iraq.
Bookmark whit:
