Kurdish rebels exploded a remote-controlled bomb next to a bus carrying military personnel and their families on the outskirts of Istanbul yesterday, killing five and wounding 12. Three of the dead were soldiers while the fourth was the 17-year-old daughter of an officer.
The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) claimed responsibility for the attack, the second on security forces in Istanbul in the past month. It comes at a time when the Kurdish Worker’s party (PKK) has called off its 14-month ceasefire and begun launching near daily attacks on the military and police.
TAK is thought to be an offshoot of the PKK, the main Kurdish force fighting for autonomy. TAK has been blamed for previous attacks, including a series of bombings in 2006 in Istanbul. PKK officials deny any knowledge of who was responsible.
On Monday, the Turkish army launched a major operation along the southern border with Iraq after 12 Turkish soldiers were killed in attacks over the weekend.
The political consequences of the PKK’s resurgence are expected to be high. The ruling Justice and Development party (AKP), headed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is accused of having weakened the government’s position against the Kurdish rebels and being distracted by foreign policy, including its involvement in the Gaza flotilla incident and holding negotiations with Iran over the country’s uranium enrichment program.
“The government’s prime responsibility is to provide life security for its citizens,” said Yusuf Kanli, a columnist for Hurriyet newspaper, who is critical of the AKP. “To solve the problems of our neighbors should not be our main concern. Our main problem is our own security. The incident in Istanbul shows there is a deficiency in intelligence and leadership from the government.”
Professor Emrullah Uslu, of Istanbul’s Yeditepe University, said the surge in violence would further the division between supporters of the mildly Islamist AKP and supporters of the Kemalist military establishment.
The AKP has long tried to rein in the military, which sees itself as the protector of Turkey’s secular state, but Uslu said the renewed violence could have a negative effect for the AKP.
“If the violence does not change, the AKP will be the losers of the situation,” he said.
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