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Today's Zaman
April 6 2014
Turkish diplomat says Reyhanlı attack carried out by al-Qaeda
6 April 2014, Sunday /Ä°STANBUL, TODAYSZAMAN.COM
In a stunning revelation, a Turkish diplomat has for the first time
admitted that the bloody Reyhanlı attack, which ravaged the border
town of Reyhanlı on May 11, 2013, leaving 53 people dead and scores
wounded, was carried out by Syrian elements of al-Qaeda, not by
groups, as is widely believed in Turkey, affiliated with the Bashar
al-Assad regime.
The remarks came at a meeting of the Permanent Council of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on March
27. In response to a comment by an Armenian diplomat, Turkey's OSCE
representative, Tacan Ä°ldem, said that al-Qaeda elements operating
from Syria carried out the attack, abandoning the long-standing
Turkish line that Damascus was responsible for the atrocity in the
border town.
Ä°ldem spoke on the issue when the Armenian diplomat called on Turkey
to take effective measures against radical groups using the Turkish
border as a conduit to stage attacks against Christians, especially
Armenians in the town of Kessab, the site of bitter fighting between
regime troops and opposition forces.
Denying allegations that Turkey gives the go-ahead to radical groups
coming through its border, Ä°ldem deemed the claims nonsensical, saying
that Turkey also faces security threats from radical elements. An
attack on security forces in the central Anatolian province of NiÄ?de,
the Turkish diplomat said, had been carried out by radical elements,
leaving three dead -- a police officer, a gendarme and a civilian
passerby.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an publicly accused Syria's Assad of
using terrorist tactics to foment unrest and disorder in neighboring
countries that support the Syrian opposition and provide relief to
refugees.
In a September 2012 statement threatening the Turkish government with
a series of `suicide attacks' and bombings in Ä°stanbul and Ankara, the
al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed
responsibility for the twin car bombings in the town of Reyhanlı.
This statement, however, met with skepticism and denial from Turkish
officials. Then-Interior Minister Muammer Güler denied allegations
that the perpetrators of the May attack in Reyhanlı were members of
al-Qaeda, saying that the real culprits of the deadly explosion are
known and under arrest.
The attack highlighted the risk emanating from the prolonged Syrian
conflict for neighboring countries, which are struggling to
accommodate floods of Syrian refugees. In addition to the unfolding
humanitarian tragedy and the refugee issue, neighboring countries face
risks of getting dragged into the conflict against their wishes and
plans, with border-crossing opposition elements and brief Syrian
incursions inviting military responses, as was the case when the
Turkish and Syrian armies exchanged fire several times last year.
The Reyhanlı attack prompted Turkey to revisit its security strategies
and policies along the 911-kilometer-long border, beefing up its
military presence to establish firm control in the area.
Turkey currently hosts around 900,000 Syrian refugees. Among them,
80,000 are reportedly housed in Reyhanlı.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-343949-turkish-diplomat-says-reyhanli-attack-carried-out-by-al-qaeda.html
April 6 2014
Turkish diplomat says Reyhanlı attack carried out by al-Qaeda
6 April 2014, Sunday /Ä°STANBUL, TODAYSZAMAN.COM
In a stunning revelation, a Turkish diplomat has for the first time
admitted that the bloody Reyhanlı attack, which ravaged the border
town of Reyhanlı on May 11, 2013, leaving 53 people dead and scores
wounded, was carried out by Syrian elements of al-Qaeda, not by
groups, as is widely believed in Turkey, affiliated with the Bashar
al-Assad regime.
The remarks came at a meeting of the Permanent Council of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on March
27. In response to a comment by an Armenian diplomat, Turkey's OSCE
representative, Tacan Ä°ldem, said that al-Qaeda elements operating
from Syria carried out the attack, abandoning the long-standing
Turkish line that Damascus was responsible for the atrocity in the
border town.
Ä°ldem spoke on the issue when the Armenian diplomat called on Turkey
to take effective measures against radical groups using the Turkish
border as a conduit to stage attacks against Christians, especially
Armenians in the town of Kessab, the site of bitter fighting between
regime troops and opposition forces.
Denying allegations that Turkey gives the go-ahead to radical groups
coming through its border, Ä°ldem deemed the claims nonsensical, saying
that Turkey also faces security threats from radical elements. An
attack on security forces in the central Anatolian province of NiÄ?de,
the Turkish diplomat said, had been carried out by radical elements,
leaving three dead -- a police officer, a gendarme and a civilian
passerby.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an publicly accused Syria's Assad of
using terrorist tactics to foment unrest and disorder in neighboring
countries that support the Syrian opposition and provide relief to
refugees.
In a September 2012 statement threatening the Turkish government with
a series of `suicide attacks' and bombings in Ä°stanbul and Ankara, the
al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed
responsibility for the twin car bombings in the town of Reyhanlı.
This statement, however, met with skepticism and denial from Turkish
officials. Then-Interior Minister Muammer Güler denied allegations
that the perpetrators of the May attack in Reyhanlı were members of
al-Qaeda, saying that the real culprits of the deadly explosion are
known and under arrest.
The attack highlighted the risk emanating from the prolonged Syrian
conflict for neighboring countries, which are struggling to
accommodate floods of Syrian refugees. In addition to the unfolding
humanitarian tragedy and the refugee issue, neighboring countries face
risks of getting dragged into the conflict against their wishes and
plans, with border-crossing opposition elements and brief Syrian
incursions inviting military responses, as was the case when the
Turkish and Syrian armies exchanged fire several times last year.
The Reyhanlı attack prompted Turkey to revisit its security strategies
and policies along the 911-kilometer-long border, beefing up its
military presence to establish firm control in the area.
Turkey currently hosts around 900,000 Syrian refugees. Among them,
80,000 are reportedly housed in Reyhanlı.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-343949-turkish-diplomat-says-reyhanli-attack-carried-out-by-al-qaeda.html