Ankara takes a wild guess

The ghastly terrorist attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk international airport on Wednesday in which 41 people were killed and well over 200 injured, many seriously, is a reminder that terrorism continues to pose a major threat internationally. One reason is that the world is yet to take collective action against terrorism, and Ankara is right to ask for this.

The Turkish authorities have pointed a finger at ISIS though this does not at this stage appear to rest on firm pointers. There have been four major terror attacks in Turkey this year, and a particularly severe one in October 2015 in Ankara, in which the death toll crossed 100. ISIS has not claimed responsibility for any of these. Turkey has a Kurdish insurrection problem and Kurd factions could be behind some of the terror episodes.

An Islamic party has been at the helm in Turkey for some years. It has been solicitous to Muslim Brotherhood elements in West Asia. Through Turkey have passed Syria-bound fighters from Europe eager to join ISIS. ISIS and Turkey have a common foe in the Kurds. For these and related reasons Ankara’s disavowal of any sympathy for Islamic State is received with a measure of scepticism.

In our own Hyderabad, 11 persons suspected to be linked to ISIS were picked up on Wednesday. This claim of the authorities too is yet unsubstantiated. While we need to keep an eye out for extremists and terrorists of all hues, the tendency by investigators to make dramatic claims has been seen to be counter-productive in the past.