The perpetrator of the ghastly terrorist attack at an upscale nightclub in Istanbul, barely an hour after the new year commenced, has not yet been identified, although Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has claimed responsibility. But hardly anything more is known so far about the attackers. Among the 39 dead are more than 15 foreigners from many parts of the world, including two from India.
Given the turmoil in Turkey’s politics, which has been accentuated in the past year or so, and Ankara sending forces across the Syrian border to combat ISIS, which it seemed earlier to be backing, it is anybody’s guess who could be behind the attack, the ISIS claim notwithstanding. The country has seen as many as 30 acts of terrorist violence in the past year, several of them spectacular and leaving a high death count. Less than a fortnight ago, the Russian ambassador in Turkey was killed by an off-duty policeman shouting Islamist slogans.
Besides ISIS, Kurdish rebel groups have also been blamed for acts of terrorism in Turkey. Last July, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fended off a determined military coup attempt. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done well to condemn the terrorist incident right away, although in recent decades Ankara has tilted Pakistan’s way. We should intensify our push at the UN to be firm against international terrorism.
