Terrorism in Turkey is defined in Turkey's criminal law as crimes against the constitutional order and internal and external security of the state by the use of violence as incitement or systematic to create a general climate of fear and intimidation of the population and thereby effect political, religious, or ideological goals. Since the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, both organized groups, lone wolf, and international spy agencies have committed many acts of domestic terrorism against Turkish people. [1]
This article serves as categorization and a compilation of acts of terrorism, attempts to commit acts of terrorism, and other such items which pertain to terrorist activities which are engaged in by non-state actors or spies who are acting in the interests of state actors or persons who are acting without the approval of foreign governments within the domestic borders of the Republic of Turkey. [1]
The organizations on the list carry out cyber attacks on various ethnic identities, devices and individuals not only in social life but also on social media( Instagram TikTok). They are also trying to take control of the media through cyber means and aim to gain sympathy and support through the media. There are symbols used by members of this organization. their clothes, lifestyle, the region they live in and where they take shelter, and their activities; by sharing their acts of distribution and brutality through the media 'without hesitation'; People from many backgrounds, races and ages around the world are threatened by spreading and sharing these images through the media.
The signs and physical symbols they use are to threaten people by raising the index finger (the index finger) up and into the air (Islamic Terrorist Organizations Symbols); The aim is to 'use religion' to talk about the activities they will do and to persuade them to Islam, to make them adopt the concept of jihad, to see themselves as soldiers of Allah and to force people to believe in this direction, to terrorize them and to spread terror with brutality. The clothing styles of men and women belonging to these organizations are in accordance with the Islamic religion they adopt. Men have long beards and turbans, and women wear black chadors. Today, their terrorist acts have become widespread in countries such as Turkey, (also associated with Kurdish Terrorist Organizations), European and Asian countries, and America. There are age groups, nationalities and people they target. They pose a global problem. The terrorist acts carried out by these Islamic, sharia and jihadist organizations together with the Kurdish Terrorist Organizations are also obvious.
Organization Fethullah Terrorist Organization, Parallel State Structure[2] Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) Maoist Communist Party (MKP) Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP/ML) Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Kurdistan Revolutionary Party (PŞK) Kurdistan Democratic Party/North (PDK/Bakur) Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) Hezbollah Caliphate State (HD) Islamic Great Eastern Raiders Front (İBDA/C) Tevhid Salam (Jerusalem Army) Al-Qaeda Terrorist Organization Turkey Structure Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS/DAEŞ)
The Kurdish Terrorist Organizations listed in the table above also have their own interests, symbols and activities/aid. These are mainly; a flag made of green, red and yellow colors (the colors and the sun symbol are brought together on social media), the sun symbol and the symbol of raising the 'pointer and middle finger' in the air, which is shown as a peace sign globally. While these signs are considered forbidden and related to the terrorist organization in certain circles, many people are unaware of this information and what is happening. Among the crimes they commit; substance use and sale, harassment, kidnapping, various threats, disrupting the order of countries, violating borders, savagery and massacre in social areas (with weapons and bombs), infiltrating social life and brainwashing people and imposing substance use on people to become members of their own organization. 'To set eyes on' the identities of states through immigration and to expand the areas for their activities by acquiring an 'identity' (introducing themselves to other countries and people with a different ethnic origin and using the legal rights of the country and citizens as their own, issuing fake identities, raising a flag, forcing states to accept their independence as a minority and trying to corrupt and assimilate the borders, historical values and elements of countries and doing these in other countries by violating the borders and people of different countries.
To display activities such as manipulation, forgery, fraud, violation, savagery, terror, terror. To drag the world into savagery in line with the purposes and ideals such as turning civilizations against each other and not recognizing any value in line with their own interests. These are organizations that organize similar criminal activities. There are institutions and organizations that fight against these organizations.
Terrorist attacks in Turkey have occurred in the southeastern and eastern provinces and major cities like Ankara and Istanbul. According to Nadir Öcal and Jülide Yildirim, most of the terrorist incidents in Turkey have been concentrated in South Eastern and Eastern Turkey and major cities. [2]
The instability of Turkish Polity originated from the constitutional monarchy of the Ottoman Empire, which suffered dramatic movements that threatened to destroy its national being as early as the nationalist movement in Anatolia in 1919. [3] Turkey's political liberalization began with Adnan Menderes and Celal Bayar's registering of the Democrat Party (DP) in January 1946. However, beginning in the 1960s the political instability had a new dimension. Political terrorism in Turkey:
...the emergence and escalation of political terrorism in Turkey took place just after the country's social scene had undergone rapid and far-reaching changes.. .the most important... [being] the transformation of Turkey from a predominantly rural society to an increasingly urban one. [4]
Driven by a Marxist-Leninist ideology, these often small, lethal, urban terrorist groups flourished during the Cold War aiming to overthrow their country's democratic government and replace it with their "vision" of a proletarian rule. [5]
Over the 1960s, Leftist radicals first attempted to challenge the political regime by use of sit-ins, street demonstrations, and the establishment of a new political party, the Turkish Labor Party (TLP). After only receiving 3% of the popular vote in the 1965 election, and 2.7% four years later, leftist radicals began to turn to a more militant approach.
1970s stemmed from the student protest movement in the 1960s.
Over the 1970s. Left-wing terrorism began in 1969 when the Proletarian Revolutionaries and Proletarian Socialists formed the Federation of Revolutionary Youth of Turkey (Dev-Genç). Knowledge on the use of explosives and weapons was provided by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). [6] Terror activities included bank robberies, bombings and kidnappings (for ransom). In 1971, the military declared martial law to arrest revolutionaries. By 1973, these incidents had stopped. [7] : 15
According to Turkish professor Sabri Sayari, more than 5,000 people were killed in hundreds of terrorist incidents between 1976 and 1980. [6]
Over the 1970s, the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) was established in 1994 following the breakup of the Dev Sol group. The anti-American group, which opposed Turkish membership in NATO and the "Turkish establishment ideology" has been involved in several high-profile attacks against American interests in Turkey, and was still active in 2015. [8]
Over the 2000, The DHKP/C began a campaign of suicide bombings in 2001, combining the tactic with targeted assassination and the use of improvised explosives to attack the Turkish police. The violent campaign intensified in 2003 in response to Turkish support in Operation Iraqi Freedom. [8]
DHKP/C resumed attacks against Turkish police in 2012 following a nearly decade-long hiatus. In March 2015 they took a Turkish prosecutor hostage who lost his life in the subsequent shootout with police. An unsuccessful suicide bombing attempt in April 2015 targeted the Istanbul headquarters of the Turkish police. [8]
Event | Year | Deaths | Perpetrator(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2013 United States embassy bombing in Ankara | 2013 | 2 | DHKP-C |
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist group, was responsible for the vast majority of terrorist attacks through 1980s and 1990s. These attacks disproportionately affected the eastern and southeastern regions of Turkey, where the PKK focused its activities. [9] [10] Notable terrorist attacks throughout this period include Pınarcık, Bingöl and Blue Market massacres.
The 2016 Atatürk Airport attack, consisting of shootings and suicide bombings, occurred on 28 June 2016 at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Three ISIL-linked terrorists murdered forty-five people and injured 230.
In February 2020, an Istanbul court acquitted novelist Aslı Erdoğan of charges of terrorist group membership and "undermining national unity". She was one of several staff members of the pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem accused of having ties to Kurdish militants. [11]
On 13 November 2022, an explosion took place on İstiklal Avenue in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district at 4:20 PM local time. According to the Governor of Istanbul, Ali Yerlikaya, the bombing left at least six people dead and 81 injured. A woman who left a bag on the avenue is the main suspect in the attack. However, no terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Interior Minister, Süleyman Soylu formally accused the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of being behind the attack. [12]
The Kurdish group Kongra-Gel, which has been engaged in armed violence since the 1980s, continued its activities in southeastern Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan. In addition to clashes between the Turkish Armed Forces and KGK in Iraqi Kurdistan, KGK intensified its campaign in Turkey, and was involved in the high-profile kidnapping of a Turkish parliamentary deputy in August 2012. Following the incident the group's leader, Abdullah Öcalan, entered into negotiations with Turkey, where he was in custody at the İmralı prison. [8]
Despite a ceasefire between the government and KGK that remained in place for the duration of peace talks, KGK leaders continued to be frustrated with a lack of constitutional and legal protections. With the exception of some clashes in southeast Turkish over the construction of military outposts that Kurdish supporters view as incompatible with the peace process, the ceasefire held until 2015, when the Turkish government ordered the detention of suspected KGK members in Turkey and renewed attacks against KGK camps and weapon caches in Kurdish Iraq. [8]
In the 1980s and 1990s, Jihadist terrorism in Turkey was an isolated phenomenon represented by the Turkish Hezbollah and the Great Eastern Islamic Raiders' Front. [17] Since the 2000s, there has been a rise in attacks from Islamist groups, some with links to Al-Qaeda. [18]
One group that has been studied by researchers is the Turkish Hezbollah. [19] Some scholars have argued that minimizing the risk posed by Iranian-backed Islamist terrorist groups in the 1990s enabled them to escalate their objectives of destroying the secular regime in Turkey and establishing an Iranian-style theocratic republic.
In July 1993, an arson attack took place where extremists set fire to a hotel where a cultural festival was taking place. Islamic groups attacked and threatened Jewish personalities and the Jewish community in Turkey. [20]
According to the Stockholm Center for Freedom, the most targeted religious groups in 2022 were Alevis and Christians. [21]
Origin of the group outside the country.
In October 2014 Kurds were protesting against both the Turkish authorities and sympathizers of ISIL [22] while Turkish soldiers have been observed to have a "soft stance" towards ISIL militants and even killing a female protester against ISIL. [23]
The March 2016 Ankara bombing killed at least 37 people and injured 125. The TAK claimed responsibility. [24]
The Dokumacılar is an Islamic terrorist group composed of about 60 Turkish militants who joined ISIL. The group is responsible for the 2015 Suruç bombing which resulted in 32 deaths.
Other attacks, including the 2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting, were perpetrated by ISIL. [25]
Event | Year | Deaths | Perpetrator(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2003 Istanbul bombings | 2003 | 57 | Al-Qaeda |
2005 Kuşadası minibus bombing | 2005 | 5 | |
Turkish Council of State shooting | 2006 | 1 | Arparslan Arslan |
2008 United States consulate in Istanbul attack | 2008 | 6 | Unknown |
2015 Istanbul suicide bombing | 2015 | 2 | ISIL |
2015 Ankara bombings | 2015 | 109 | ISIL |
January 2016 Istanbul bombing | 2016 | 14 | ISIL |
2016 Atatürk Airport attack | 2016 | 48 | ISIL |
August 2016 Gaziantep bombing | 2016 | 57 | ISIL |
March 2016 Istanbul bombing | 2016 | 5 | ISIL linked militant |
2022 Istanbul bombing | 2022 | 6 | Disputed |
Istanbul nightclub shooting | 2017 | 39 | ISIL |
2013 Reyhanlı car bombings | 2013 | 52 | Syrian Resistance (per Turkish government) |
Two Armenian groups conducted several terror attacks aimed at Turkish diplomats.
One was the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (in Armenian Dashnaktsuthium, or "The Federation"), a revolutionary movement founded in Tiflis (Russian Transcaucasia) in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian. Many members had been part of Narodnaya Volya or the Hunchakian Revolutionary Party. [26] The group published newsletters, smuggled arms, and hijacked buildings as it sought to bring in European intervention that would force the Ottoman Empire to surrender control of its Armenian territories. [27] On 24 August 1896, 17-year-old Babken Suni led twenty-six members in capturing the Imperial Ottoman Bank in Constantinople. The group backed down on a threat to blow up the bank. [28] On 21 July 1905, a bombing perpetrated by the same group targeting Sultan Abdul Hamid II failed to kill the Sultan, while killing 26 and injuring 58 others.
JCAG (Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide). These attacks spawned a period of ten years from 1975 to 1985. Their efforts were mostly based overseas, but some attacks occurred in Turkey such as the May 1977 bombing of the Istanbul airport and railway and Ankara Esenboğa airport attack. [7] : 10–12
Event | Year | Deaths | Perpetrator(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Occupation of the Ottoman Bank | 1896 | 10 | Armenian Revolutionary Federation |
Yıldız assassination attempt | 1905 | 26 | Armenian Revolutionary Federation |
Ankara Esenboğa Airport attack | 1982 | 10 | ASALA |
According to the US State Department "Turkey regularly used to criminalize the exercise of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly". [29] 1.6 million people were investigated after being accused of terrorism between 2016 and 2020. [30] Prominent figures of the Turkish opposition were accused of an alleged membership of a terrorist group. [30] The definition of terrorism in Turkey is rather vague as it also includes a social media post or taking part in popular protests. [30]
One study found that Turkish voters are highly sensitive to terrorism and that they blame the government for casualties. Additionally, exposure to terrorism leads to an increase in the vote share of the right-wing parties. [31]
The Country Reports on Terrorism, published by the U.S. Department of State, provide assessments regarding counterterrorism efforts worldwide. The 2023 report includes various evaluations concerning Turkey. The report covers Turkey's counterterrorism activities, legal regulations, human rights practices, and international cooperation.
The report states that Turkey conducted operations throughout 2023 against groups such as the PKK, DHKP/C, and ISIS. It notes that the PKK carried out attacks targeting Turkey’s domestic and foreign interests, resulting in the deaths of 51 security personnel, 196 PKK members, and 11 civilians. Operations conducted by Turkish security forces in northern Iraq and northern Syria are also mentioned. Significant incidents highlighted in the report include the October 1 suicide attack targeting the Ministry of Interior building in Ankara and the December 22–23 PKK attacks in northern Iraq. In response to these attacks, Turkish airstrikes reportedly led to the deaths of 10 civilians and caused damage to civilian infrastructure, including healthcare and industrial facilities.
The report examines the judicial processes and arrests targeting individuals linked to the Gülen Movement, which Turkey holds responsible for the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. The U.S. does not recognize this movement as a terrorist organization and refers to its leader, Fethullah Gülen, as an "exiled cleric and political figure." It is noted that Gülen resides in the U.S., which has been a point of disagreement between the two nations. The report criticizes some of these cases, citing insufficient evidence and a lack of adherence to international legal standards.
The report highlights concerns regarding Turkey's counterterrorism laws, stating that they are occasionally applied in ways that restrict freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly. Criticisms include claims of insufficient evidence and procedural deficiencies in detention and arrest practices.
The report examines the impact of counterterrorism measures on freedom of expression and the press. It references the monitoring of social media accounts and arrests on charges of terrorism propaganda.
The report notes that Turkey remains on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray list. It outlines steps taken by Turkey, such as introducing regulations concerning politically exposed persons, enhancing financial intelligence activities, and improving risk-based supervision. Additionally, more complex money laundering investigations and prosecutions are reported to have been carried out.
The report details Turkey's contributions to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, including its roles in the Africa Focus Group and the Communications Working Group. Turkey’s efforts in repatriating displaced foreign nationals and detainees are also highlighted.
The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement which historically operated throughout Kurdistan but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. It was founded in Ziyaret, Lice on 27 November 1978 and has been involved in asymmetric warfare in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict. Although the PKK initially sought an independent Kurdish state, in the 1990s its official platform changed to seeking autonomy and increased political and cultural rights for Kurds within Turkey.
The Kurdistan Islamic Movement is a Kurdish Islamist party founded in 1987 by mufti Osman Abdulaziz and several other Kurdish Islamic scholars who were all part of the non-political "Union of Religious Scholars" group. The party's main support comes from in and around the town of Halabja.
The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front is a Turkish Marxist–Leninist communist party in Turkey. It was founded in 1978 as Revolutionary Left, and has been involved in a militant campaign against the Republic of Turkey since the 1980s. It was renamed in 1994 after factional infighting. It is classified as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Japan. Starting in the late 1980s, the group shifted its focus to targeting both active and retired Turkish security and military personnel. By 1990, it broadened its activities to include attacks on foreign entities, specifically targeting U.S. military and diplomatic staff and installations.
The history of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) began in 1974 as a Marxist–Leninist organization under the leadership of Abdullah Öcalan. In 1978 the organization adopted the name "Kurdistan Workers Party" and waged its low-level Urban War in Turkish Kurdistan between 1978 and 1980. The PKK restructured itself and moved the organization structure to Syria between 1980 and 1984, after the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. The Kurdish-Turkish conflict began in earnest in 1984. The rural-based insurgency lasted between 1984 and 1992. The PKK shifted its activities to include urban attacks against Turkish military bases between 1993–1995 and later 1996–1999. Öcalan was captured in Kenya in early 1999. After a "self declared peace initiative of 1999", hostilities resumed in February 2004. 2013 saw another ceasefire, but the conflict resumed again in 2015 and has continued since.
Kurdish Hezbollah or Hizbullah, is a Kurdish Sunni Islamist militant organization, active against Turkey, and the PKK. It is derogatorily known by its critics as Hizbulkontra, Hizbulvahşet, and Hizbulşeytan. They are also derogatorily known as Sofik, which is a diminutive of "Sofu", which means "devout" or "practicing".
The Kurdistan Free Life Party, or PJAK, is a Kurdish leftist anti-Islamic Republic of Iran armed militant group. It has waged an intermittent armed struggle since 2004 against the Iranian Government, seeking self-determination through some degree of autonomy for Kurds in Iran.
The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks, or TAK, is a Kurdish nationalist militant group in Turkey seeking an independent Kurdish state in Turkish Kurdistan. The group also opposes the Turkish government's policies towards Kurds in Turkey. It has been designated as a terrorist organization by the US, UK and Australian governments.
The Iran–PJAK conflict is an armed conflict between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Kurdish rebels of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), which began in 2004. The group has carried out numerous attacks in the Kurdistan Province of Iran and provinces of Western Iran. PJAK is closely affiliated with the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the primary opponent of the Republic of Turkey in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict. PJAK has been designated as a terrorist organization by Iran, Japan, Turkey, and the United States.
This is the timeline of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. The Kurdish insurgency is an armed conflict between the Republic of Turkey and various Kurdish insurgent groups, which have demanded separation from Turkey to create an independent Kurdistan, or to have autonomy and greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. The main rebel group is the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, which was founded on November 27, 1978, and started a full-scale insurgency on August 15, 1984, when it declared a Kurdish uprising. Apart from some extended ceasefires, the conflict has continued to the present day.
The 2005 Erbil bombing was a suicide attack on the offices of Kurdish political parties in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, on May 4, 2005. The attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body as people lined up outside a police recruiting center in Erbil. Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility. This attack is an example of religious terrorism, groups who commit terrorist acts because of religion believe that their deity or deities are on their side and that their violence is divinely inspired and approved. This attack is also an example of Strategic terrorism. Which is a form of terrorism where the terrorist plans to inflict mass casualties. The goals of Strategic terrorism are normally not local objectives but global objectives or regional objectives. Ansar al-Sunna's goal is to transform the country of Iraq into an Islamic state so their goals are regional.
The Suruç bombing was a suicide attack by the Turkish sect of Islamic State named Dokumacılar against Turkish leftists that took place in the Suruç district of Şanlıurfa Province in Turkey on 20 July 2015, outside the Amara Culture Centre. A total of 34 people were killed and 104 were reported injured. Most victims were members of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) Youth Wing and the Socialist Youth Associations Federation (SGDF), university students who were giving a press statement on their planned trip to reconstruct the Syrian border town of Kobanî.
The 2015 police raids in Turkey were a series of police raids conducted by the General Directorate of Security in 16 different Provinces of Turkey. The July 20th, 2015 Suruç bombing in Suruç killed 32 Kurds. Claimed by ISIS, it was perceived by Kurdish militants as a collaboration between ISIS and Turkey security services, leading to a series of revenge attacks on Turkish policemen and military positions in Adıyaman and Ceylanpınar. The Ceylanpınar incidents saw the assassination of 2 policemen by operatives of disputed affiliation, attributed to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and became the Casus belli for Turkey operations in both Turkey and Iraq.
Operation Martyr Yalçın was a military operation conducted by the Turkish Air Force against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) positions in Syria, and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in northern Iraq, on 24 and 25 July 2015.
In late July 2015, the third phase of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict between various Kurdish insurgent groups and the Turkish government erupted, following a failed two and a half year-long peace process aimed at resolving the long-running conflict.
On 19 March 2016, a suicide bombing took place in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district in front of the district governor's office. The attack occurred at 10:55 (EET) at the intersection of Balo Street with İstiklal Avenue, a central shopping street. The attack caused at least five deaths, including that of the perpetrator. Thirty-six people were injured, including seven whose injuries were severe. Among those injured were twelve foreign tourists. Among those killed, three were of Israeli nationality. On 22 March, the Turkish interior minister said that the bomber had links with ISIL.
On 7 June 2016, at around 08:40 (UTC+3), a bombing occurred in central Istanbul, Turkey, killing 12 people and injuring 51 others, three of them seriously. The attack targeted a bus carrying policemen as the vehicle passed through the Vezneciler district near the Şehzade Mosque and the Vezneciler Metro station.
On the evening of 10 December 2016, two explosions caused by a car bombing and suicide bombing in Istanbul's Beşiktaş municipality killed 48 people and injured 166 others. 39 of those killed were police officers, 7 were civilians and 2 were perpetrators. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) assumed responsibility, claiming that their members killed more than 100 police officers.
A terrorist attack occurred on İstiklal Avenue in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, on 13 November 2022, killing 6 people and injuring 81 others.
The Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency is an armed conflict between the Republic of Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party, as well as its allied insurgent groups, both Kurdish and non-Kurdish, who have either demanded separation from Turkey to create an independent Kurdistan, or attempted to secure autonomy, and/or greater political and cultural rights for Kurds inside the Republic of Turkey.
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