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Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 1 2014
US terror report: Turkey used for transit by radical groups in Syria
Rebel fighters walk along a street in the Armenian Christian town of
Kasab March 31, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)
May 01, 2014, Thursday/ 18:10:48/ TODAYSZAMAN .COM/ WASHINGTON
The US State Department has said in its annual global terrorism report
that Turkey was often used as a transit country in 2013 for foreign
fighters seeking to join al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Syria.
Released in Washington on Wednesday, `Country Reports on Terrorism
2013,' said: `Largely because of the ongoing conflict in Syria, Turkey
has voiced increasing concern about terrorist groups currently near
its border. These groups include al-Qa'ida in Iraq/Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant [ISIL] and al-Nusrah Front. Turkey was often used
as a transit country for foreign fighters wishing to join these and
other groups in Syria.'
The report said that terrorist violence in 2013 was fueled by
sectarian motivations, marking a worrisome trend, in particular in
Syria, Lebanon and Pakistan, where victims of violence were primarily
among civilian populations. Thousands of extremist fighters entered
Syria during the year. Among them, a large percentage were reportedly
motivated by a sectarian view of the conflict and a desire to protect
the Sunni Muslim community from the Alawite-dominated regime of Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad regime.
The State Department report underlined that the key terrorism trend in
2013 developed in Syria, which continues to be a major battleground
for terrorism on both sides of the conflict and remains a key area of
longer-term concern. It said thousands of foreign fighters traveled to
Syria to join the fight against the Assad regime -- with some joining
violent extremist groups -- while Iran, Hezbollah and other Shiite
militias provided a broad range of critical support to the regime.
The report added that some of the thousands of fighters from around
the world who are traveling to Syria to do battle against the Assad
regime -- particularly from the Middle East, North Africa, Central
Asia and Eastern and Western Europe -- are joining violent extremist
groups, including the al-Nusra Front and ISIL. A number of key partner
governments are becoming increasingly concerned that individuals with
violent extremist ties and battlefield experience will return to their
home countries or elsewhere to commit acts of terrorism, it said,
adding that the scale of this problem has raised concerns about the
creation of a new generation of globally committed terrorists, similar
to what resulted from the influx of violent extremists to Afghanistan
in the 1980s.
A major challenge to Europe, the report highlighted, was the
increasing travel of European citizens -- mostly young men -- to and
from Syria seeking to join forces opposing the Assad regime. The
report argued that these `foreign fighters' sparked increasing
concerns, and actions to address them, by European countries worried
about the growing number of their citizens traveling to battlefields
and possibly returning radicalized.
In 2013, the report said, Turkey continued to face significant
internal terrorist threats and has taken strong action in response.
Increased activity by the Revolutionary People's Liberation
Party/Front (DHKP/C), a terrorist Marxist-Leninist group with anti-US
and anti-NATO views that seeks the violent overthrow of the Turkish
state, threatened the security of both US and Turkish interests. A
number of attacks occurred, including a suicide bombing of the US
Embassy in February 2013 that killed the bomber and a Turkish guard
and injured a visiting Turkish journalist.
In its annual global terrorism report the State Department describes
as prominent among terrorist groups in Turkey the Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK). According to the report, the PKK has spoken more often
about autonomy within a Turkish state that guarantees Kurdish cultural
and linguistic rights. Following three decades of conflict with the
PKK terrorist organization, the government and PKK leader Abdullah
Ã-calan began talks in late 2012 for a peace process. The PKK called
for a cease-fire in March, which both sides largely observed, apart
from small-scale PKK attacks in late 2013.
The report pointed out that approximately 20 terrorist attacks
occurred in Turkey in 2013. It said the ones that garnered the most
attention were: Feb. 1, a DHKP/C suicide attack against the US Embassy
in Ankara; Feb. 11, a car bomb at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing
between Turkey and Syria that killed 13 people; March 19, a
DHKP/C-coordinated hand grenade attacks on the Ministry of Justice and
on the headquarters of the ruling party; May 11, a twin car bombings
in Reyhanlı that killed at least 53 people -- the deadliest terrorist
attack in Turkey's modern history -- and Sept. 20, a DHKP/C attack at
the National Police Department headquarters and police guesthouse with
light anti-tank weapons (LAWs).
According to the report, the State Department continued to provide
counterterrorism assistance to the Turkish national police that
focused on institutionalizing advanced skills into Turkey's law
enforcement infrastructure and included training in terrorist
interdiction and crisis management. It said Turkey increased its
cooperation with European countries regarding the status of members of
the DHKP/C and also worked closely with European, North African and
Middle Eastern countries to prohibit the travel of potential foreign
fighters planning to pass through Turkey to Syria, although it remains
a transit route for these fighters.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-346593-us-terror-report-turkey-used-for-transit-by-radical-groups-in-syria.html
May 1 2014
US terror report: Turkey used for transit by radical groups in Syria
Rebel fighters walk along a street in the Armenian Christian town of
Kasab March 31, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)
May 01, 2014, Thursday/ 18:10:48/ TODAYSZAMAN .COM/ WASHINGTON
The US State Department has said in its annual global terrorism report
that Turkey was often used as a transit country in 2013 for foreign
fighters seeking to join al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Syria.
Released in Washington on Wednesday, `Country Reports on Terrorism
2013,' said: `Largely because of the ongoing conflict in Syria, Turkey
has voiced increasing concern about terrorist groups currently near
its border. These groups include al-Qa'ida in Iraq/Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant [ISIL] and al-Nusrah Front. Turkey was often used
as a transit country for foreign fighters wishing to join these and
other groups in Syria.'
The report said that terrorist violence in 2013 was fueled by
sectarian motivations, marking a worrisome trend, in particular in
Syria, Lebanon and Pakistan, where victims of violence were primarily
among civilian populations. Thousands of extremist fighters entered
Syria during the year. Among them, a large percentage were reportedly
motivated by a sectarian view of the conflict and a desire to protect
the Sunni Muslim community from the Alawite-dominated regime of Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad regime.
The State Department report underlined that the key terrorism trend in
2013 developed in Syria, which continues to be a major battleground
for terrorism on both sides of the conflict and remains a key area of
longer-term concern. It said thousands of foreign fighters traveled to
Syria to join the fight against the Assad regime -- with some joining
violent extremist groups -- while Iran, Hezbollah and other Shiite
militias provided a broad range of critical support to the regime.
The report added that some of the thousands of fighters from around
the world who are traveling to Syria to do battle against the Assad
regime -- particularly from the Middle East, North Africa, Central
Asia and Eastern and Western Europe -- are joining violent extremist
groups, including the al-Nusra Front and ISIL. A number of key partner
governments are becoming increasingly concerned that individuals with
violent extremist ties and battlefield experience will return to their
home countries or elsewhere to commit acts of terrorism, it said,
adding that the scale of this problem has raised concerns about the
creation of a new generation of globally committed terrorists, similar
to what resulted from the influx of violent extremists to Afghanistan
in the 1980s.
A major challenge to Europe, the report highlighted, was the
increasing travel of European citizens -- mostly young men -- to and
from Syria seeking to join forces opposing the Assad regime. The
report argued that these `foreign fighters' sparked increasing
concerns, and actions to address them, by European countries worried
about the growing number of their citizens traveling to battlefields
and possibly returning radicalized.
In 2013, the report said, Turkey continued to face significant
internal terrorist threats and has taken strong action in response.
Increased activity by the Revolutionary People's Liberation
Party/Front (DHKP/C), a terrorist Marxist-Leninist group with anti-US
and anti-NATO views that seeks the violent overthrow of the Turkish
state, threatened the security of both US and Turkish interests. A
number of attacks occurred, including a suicide bombing of the US
Embassy in February 2013 that killed the bomber and a Turkish guard
and injured a visiting Turkish journalist.
In its annual global terrorism report the State Department describes
as prominent among terrorist groups in Turkey the Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK). According to the report, the PKK has spoken more often
about autonomy within a Turkish state that guarantees Kurdish cultural
and linguistic rights. Following three decades of conflict with the
PKK terrorist organization, the government and PKK leader Abdullah
Ã-calan began talks in late 2012 for a peace process. The PKK called
for a cease-fire in March, which both sides largely observed, apart
from small-scale PKK attacks in late 2013.
The report pointed out that approximately 20 terrorist attacks
occurred in Turkey in 2013. It said the ones that garnered the most
attention were: Feb. 1, a DHKP/C suicide attack against the US Embassy
in Ankara; Feb. 11, a car bomb at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing
between Turkey and Syria that killed 13 people; March 19, a
DHKP/C-coordinated hand grenade attacks on the Ministry of Justice and
on the headquarters of the ruling party; May 11, a twin car bombings
in Reyhanlı that killed at least 53 people -- the deadliest terrorist
attack in Turkey's modern history -- and Sept. 20, a DHKP/C attack at
the National Police Department headquarters and police guesthouse with
light anti-tank weapons (LAWs).
According to the report, the State Department continued to provide
counterterrorism assistance to the Turkish national police that
focused on institutionalizing advanced skills into Turkey's law
enforcement infrastructure and included training in terrorist
interdiction and crisis management. It said Turkey increased its
cooperation with European countries regarding the status of members of
the DHKP/C and also worked closely with European, North African and
Middle Eastern countries to prohibit the travel of potential foreign
fighters planning to pass through Turkey to Syria, although it remains
a transit route for these fighters.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-346593-us-terror-report-turkey-used-for-transit-by-radical-groups-in-syria.html