Turkey: Two Days, Two Attacks
Several years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Turkey. I remember our tour guide mentioning that 9% of the population had become “Islamic” voters, had rejected secularism. Our guide was so proud of the western-style advances Turkey had made since the days of Kemal Attaturk, the leader who introduced a secular form of government. It is quite sad to read this because it seems that our guide’s worst fears are being realized. Of course, this is not the first time Turkey has experienced terrorism; it was a few years ago that two synagogues were bombed and several people died. But it is sad to see a country that was predominantly Muslim, but secular, dancing with the terrorist beast, whether those responsible for the bombings are Kurds or Islamic radicals.
-Aggie
ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) — A blast at the Turkish resort town of Antalya has killed at least three people and injured 18 others, police said, the fifth explosion to hit the country in less than 24 hours.
Authorities told The Associated Press they were looking for two suspects, indicating but not saying outright that Monday’s explosion was the result of a bomb.
The Antalya governor’s office told CNN Turk the cause of the latest explosion — near a building housing restaurants — was still under investigation.
Late Sunday, blasts along Turkey’s Mediterranean coast and in the commercial center of Istanbul left 27 people wounded, including 10 British tourists, officials said.
The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, a group linked to the main Kurdish guerrilla group, the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attacks.
On its Web site the group warned: “Turkey is not a safe country. Tourists should not come to Turkey,” according to the AP. It was not immediately possible to verify the statement’s authenticity.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Antalya explosion.
Kurdish militants have often threatened to target the tourism industry in their fight for autonomy in the Turkish southeast.
Police sources told CNN Turk the earlier blasts were the result of bombs.
“With the efforts of our security forces we will capture those behind the blasts as soon as possible and bring them to account,” Reuters reported Marmaris Governor Temel Kocaklar as saying.
Witnesses in Antalya told Reuters they heard a bang that broke windows, sent shrapnel flying into people and sparked a fire at a shopping area in the city, one of Turkey’s most popular destinations.
“I saw two wounded tourists and a burned body of a dead man who was a pastry vendor,” said journalist Riza Ozel on holiday.
Hospitals received 38 wounded people, according to Reuters. Russia’s vice consul in Antalya, Sergey Koritsky, said the injured included a German, a Jordanian, two Iranians, four Israelis and a Russian.
“There was a fire and a lot of cars were damaged, a lot of motorbikes were damaged,” he told the news agency, adding that the street was packed with restaurants and shops.