ISIS member behind deadly Istanbul suicide blast, PM says

[rmstock]

Tourist hotspot targeted in Turkey terror attack
ISIS member behind deadly Istanbul suicide blast, PM says
By Greg Botelho, Gul Tuysuz and Arwa Damon, CNN
Updated 2059 GMT (0459 HKT) January 12, 2016
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/12/europe/turkey-istanbul-explosion/

  "Read more about this story at CNN Turk.
   
   Story highlights
     * NEW: A Peruvian was wounded and 2 victims are still unidentified, Peru's
       foreign ministry says
     * The blast took place in Sultanahmet Square, in the heart of
       Istanbul's heavily guarded tourist area
     * Official: The suicide bomber wasn't being tracked by Turkish
       authorities, came from Syria
   
   Istanbul (CNN) -- The suicide bomber who killed at least 10 foreigners
   Tuesday in a popular central Istanbul tourist area belonged to ISIS,
   officials said -- an attack that shows the group's nerve, reach and
   capacity for terror.
   
   No group claimed responsibility for the blast, yet Turkish Prime
   Minister Ahmet Davutoglu pinned blame on the group that calls itself
   the Islamic State, which has entrenched itself in neighboring Syria and
   Iraq while proving willing time and again to lash out elsewhere.
   
   At least eight Germans died in the blast between the Hagia Sophia and
   Blue Mosque tourist attractions in Istanbul's cultural and historic
   heart, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, warning that figure may
   rise. A Turkish official earlier told CNN that at least nine Germans
   were killed. Davutoglu indicated that the 15 wounded were from inside
   and outside his country, with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter
   Steinmeier saying nine of those were German.
   
   "They haven't just targeted those who died," Davutoglu said. "They have
   targeted the whole of Turkey and the whole world."
   
   Born in 1988, the man responsible for the blast was not among the
   thousands being tracked by Turkish authorities, having "newly (come)
   into Turkey from Syria," Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said.
   
   Read More
   
   Just to Turkey's south, Syria has been embroiled in a civil war for
   nearly five years -- a conflict that, according to the United Nations,
   has cost more than 250,000 lives, spurred more than half the country's
   17 million residents to flee and caused humanitarian crises for those
   left behind, as illustrated by the hundreds starving in the siege of
   Madaya.
   
   This violence can be pinned on many groups, including forces loyal to
   Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Yet ISIS has been behind many of the
   worst atrocities there and elsewhere in the region, a fact that's made
   the terror group a top target for civilized countries.
   
   A member of NATO, Turkey has increasingly been engaged in this fight --
   including allowing the United States to launch strikes from Incirlik
   Air Base in southern Turkey and clamping down to curb more fighters
   from going through its territory to join the group. ISIS has responded
   by singling out Turkey as a primary target, and a recent issue of its
   Dabiq magazine had a cover showing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
   alongside U.S. President Barack Obama.
   
   And Davutoglu stressed Turkey wouldn't back down after Tuesday's
   attack, urging his countrymen and people worldwide to unite against
   this threat.
   
   "We will continue our fight against terror with the same firm
   attitude," said the Prime Minister, insisting his country will continue
   working with the U.S.-led coalition to combat ISIS. "We will never
   compromise, not one single inch."
   
   'I saw shocked tourists falling to the ground'
   
   Tuesday's blast rattled Sultanahmet Square around 10:20 a.m. (3:20 a.m.
   ET) and brought a rush of ambulances and security forces to an area
   that would have been heavily guarded on any day.
   
   "I've never heard such a loud explosion in my life," Sener Ozdemir, a
   45-year-old shop owner, told Turkey's semi-official Anadolu news
   agency. "...Just after the incident, I saw shocked tourists falling to
   the ground."
   
   Targeting outsiders would be in line with attacks executed or inspired
   by ISIS, which has enemies everywhere and has proven willing to strike
   those who don't subscribe to its twisted, hard-line version of Sharia
   law.
   
   https://twitter.com/GermanyDiplo/status/686978306005143552
   
   Turkey is a popular destination for Germans, and Germany's foreign
   ministry urged travelers in Istanbul "to avoid public gatherings (and)
   tourist attractions for now" after the attack.
   
   The Peruvian foreign ministry said in a statement that one of its
   citizens is in stable condition at a hospital after being wounded.
   
   A Norwegian citizen was taken to a nearby hospital after the incident,
   foreign ministry spokesman Frode Andersen told CNN.
   
   Sajjan Gohel, international security director at the Asia-Pacific
   Foundation, doesn't think it's a coincidence this suicide blast
   happened in a square that's both a draw for tourists and significant to
   Turkey's history and its diverse cultural identity -- the type of
   place, he said, "that ISIS is so deeply opposed to."
   
   "The type of monuments that are in Sultanahmet Square are the type that
   ISIS has been blowing up in Syria," Gohel told CNN. "It's seen as a
   place where you have a mesh of different entities. It's a real melting
   pot."
     
   Germany's Merkel: 'We will persevere'
   
   The blast comes as Turkey deals with multiple security threats -- from
   longstanding nemesis the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, as well as
   ISIS, which has taken over swaths of Syria and Iraq on its quest to
   form a far-reaching caliphate.
   
   Ankara has persistently battled the PKK, which the United States and
   other governments have branded a terror group.
   
   Turkey's actions against ISIS, which first emerged out of Iraq but now
   has its de facto capital in Syria, are more recent but have nonetheless
   made it a target of that terrorist group.
   
   Its military cooperation with the United States and other NATO nations
   in particular has angered ISIS, said Fadi Hakura, associate fellow at
   Chatham House.
   
  ISIS goes global: 60 attacks, 19 countries
   
   Investigators honed in on ISIS after two suicide blasts in October hit
   a lunchtime peace rally in Ankara, in which demonstrators were calling
   for an end to the renewed conflict between the PKK and Turkish
   government. Those explosions killed as many as 100 people and injured
   more than 240 more.
   
   Tuesday's blast -- if it's confirmed to be the terror group's work --
   ups the ante for Ankara, forcing it to step up its anti-ISIS fight even
   more, according to the Asia-Pacific Foundation's Gohel.
   
   "An attack like this is designed to create economic, political and
   social consequences," Gohel told CNN. "Turkey has to realize that the
   pipeline that feeds ISIS from Turkey to Syria has to now be cut off,
   because incidents like this are not one-offs. This could be part of a
   series of plots."
   
   And given that the dead aren't Turkish, this attack directly impacts
   other countries as well. While it's not known if the bomber targeted
   any one nationality, the idea of terrorists targeting tourists is not
   new -- as illustrated in last March's attack on Tunis' Bardo Museum and
   June's mass shooting at a Tunisian beachfront hotel.
   
   "We have a free society ... but there are people who want us harmed,"
   said Merkel, referring to the Tunisia attacks and the more recent ones
   targeting civilians in Paris. "... We will persevere."
   
   CNN's Arwa Damon, Gul Tuysuz and journalist Zeynep Bilginsoy reported
   from Istanbul. CNN's Greg Botelho and Ed Payne reported and wrote from
   Atlanta.



Police investigate the scene of an explosion in central Istanbul on Tuesday, January 12. A suicide bomber killed nine people and injured more than a dozen others in a popular tourist area.


A man takes a photograph near the site of the explosion in Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet district.


Turkish police cordon off a street in Istanbul.


A man looks at the Blue Mosque near the site of the blast in Istanbul.


Police investigate the scene.


Ambulances and fire trucks gather near the site of the attack.


People on a tram look out the window as it drives past the tourism hub where the explosion occurred.


A police helicopter patrols over the historic Sultanahmet district.

[MikeWB]

ISIS is pissed that Turkey's given up on them. US & Russia are blasting them from both sides and all the oil is in flames due to Russian strikes on tankers. Then there are Kurds that are fighting them as well.

They're clearly mad at Erdogan for not doing something to stop the onslaught.

[rmstock]

ISIS is pissed that Turkey's given up on them. US & Russia are blasting them from both sides and all the oil is in flames due to Russian strikes on tankers. Then there are Kurds that are fighting them as well.

They're clearly mad at Erdogan for not doing something to stop the onslaught.

I didn't know that Turkey and Ergodan in recent days publicly have
denounced ISIS/ISIL/Dash. Knowing the mandatory line of PC concerning
Islam being a religion of peace, all across the European Union board
and United States as the official Party line, and added that the Muslim
Brotherhood have infiltrated in numerous countries - where they are
operating - governmental, municipal, security and intelligence
agencies, this Istanbul attack is the same as the 1st Paris attack :
giving way to new fast-track anti-terror and surveillance legislation
into a fascist Police State. Oh Turkey did already have that ?
There must be more to this one. This is the Charlie Hebdo of Turkey
i assume, a false flag no doubt as this article underlines :

Terror
Nachrichtensperre: Rätselhafter Terror-Anschlag von Istanbul
Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten  |  Veröffentlicht: 13.01.16 01:27 Uhr
http://deutsche-wirtschafts-nachrichten.de/2016/01/12/nachrichtensperre-raetselhafter-terror-anschlag-von-istanbul/

https://twitter.com/Conflicts/status/686852455603269632

And i forgot to mention the most important reason : Angela Merkel now has her
much needed distraction from the current rape crisis debacle inside Germany.

[MikeWB]

Surprise surprise... the killer was Saudi!



Istanbul Suicide Bomber Entered Country as Syrian Refugee, Officials Say
Bomber identified as Nabil Fadli was fingerprinted, but information didn't set off security alerts


By
Dion Nissenbaum and

    *
      Dion Nissenbaum
      The Wall Street Journal
      CANCEL
    * BiographyDion Nissenbaum
    * @DionNissenbaum
    * Dion.Nissenbaum@wsj.com

Ayla Albayrak

    *
      Ayla Albayrak
      The Wall Street Journal
      CANCEL
    * BiographyAyla Albayrak
    * @aylushka_a
    *

Updated Jan. 13, 2016 12:33 p.m. ET
79 COMMENTS

ISTANBUL—The Islamic State suicide bomber who killed 10 German tourists in the heart of Istanbul entered the country as a Syrian refugee without setting off security alerts, Turkish officials said Wednesday, highlighting concerns that extremists are using the migrant crisis to move around and carry out terrorist attacks.

Turkish officials identified the bomber as Nabil Fadli, a Syrian national born in Saudi Arabia in 1988, who was fingerprinted in Turkey last week while registering as a refugee with immigration officials.

Investigators matched his fingerprints to those found Tuesday at the blast site, where 10 German tourists were killed and at least 11 other people were wounded. Five suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack, officials said without providing details.

The German tour group had gathered in a square near Istanbul's picturesque Blue Mosque for a day of sightseeing when the man approached them and detonated his explosives. Nine other Germans were injured by the blast, but officials said they didn't believe their nationality was a factor.
Related Video
A powerful explosion hit the heart of Istanbul's central tourist district on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and injuring 15 others. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said a Syria-linked suicide bomber is believed to be behind the blast. Photo: AP.

"There are no indications that the attack specifically targeted Germans," German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said during a news conference with his Turkish counterpart in Istanbul. "I see no reason to avoid trips to Turkey."

Mr. Fadli's apparent ability to enter Turkey, register with immigration officials and carry out the attack without triggering any international terror alerts is likely to fuel concerns that Islamic State extremists are exploiting the migrant crisis to sneak across borders to stage attacks.

The coordinated attacks in Paris by Islamic State-affiliated terrorists, including two who allegedly traveled to Europe posing as refugees, have sparked alarm in Europe and the U.S. Some politicians have suggested that their countries only accept Christian refugees. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S.

Turkey is already home to more than 2 million Syrian refugees who have fled the nearly five-year war in Syria. The refugee crisis has at times overwhelmed European leaders, who have pledged to give Turkey $3 billion to help stem the human tide from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Africa and other parts of the world.

Turkish officials said Mr. Fadli was fingerprinted on Jan. 5 when he registered, but didn't raise any red flags suggesting he was a threat.

Mr. Fadli wasn't on terror watch lists shared with Turkey by other countries, said Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala.

"Turkey has and will continue to cooperate on all fronts to prevent terrorists...from reaching their goals," he said.

When he was fingerprinted, Mr. Fadli said he had been smuggled into Turkey from Syria five days earlier, according to one Turkish official. Adnan Alhussen, a Syrian opposition activist, said Mr. Fadli had been part of a rebel group near Aleppo that joined Islamic State in 2014, when it took over his town.

Mr. Fadli was born in Saudi Arabia and left the country with his family when he was eight years old, Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry said.

The attack on Westerners rattled Turkey's leaders, who said they have been carrying out security operations around the country in an effort to thwart this kind of attack.

In late December, Turkish security officials in Ankara arrested two men with explosives who were accused of planning a New Year's Eve attack. In mid-December, Turkish officials said they had detained another Syrian man accused of preparing to attack the U.S. consulate in Istanbul.

Security forces pressed ahead with operations targeting suspected Islamic State extremists. In the southern resort city of Antalya, security forces arrested three Russians for alleged links to Islamic State, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

But officials said it was difficult to prevent every attack.

"It is not easy for any country, for any intelligence service, for any security measures to stop all attacks," said an official in the prime minister's office. "The challenge is difficult for us because we share a border with Syria that other countries don't."

Turkey will step up its intelligence gathering operations, but it will not change its policy toward refugees, an official at Turkey's emergency agency said. "Despite all kinds of dangers and risks, we have not changed our open-door policy for the past five years," said the official. "And we will not do that now, either. Only security precautions will continue to be tightened."

http://www.wsj.com/articles/istanbul-suicide-bomber-entered-country-as-syrian-refugee-officials-say-1452685264
https://archive.is/85MXL

[maz]

The fact that they immediately blamed a Syrian and most of the victims were Germans is a little too much of a like story in light of the ongoing sexual assault controversies in Germany. A "terror attack" seems to benefit a lot of people, particularly those who want to build a case for launching a war on Syria.

[MikeWB]

The fact that they immediately blamed a Syrian and most of the victims were Germans is a little too much of a like story in light of the ongoing sexual assault controversies in Germany. A "terror attack" seems to benefit a lot of people, particularly those who want to build a case for launching a war on Syria.

Yeah, it's all about how they present headlines. Kinda like when 9/11 happened and they said "AlQ" was behind it and they're from Afghanistan... when almost every one of them was Saudi.

Germany's already pounding ISIS targets in Iraq. Their Tornado planes are based out of Turkey I believe.