One dead in ISIL-linked magazine bombing in Istanbul

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

A blast at the office of a magazine in Istanbul’s Kağıthane district late on March 25 left one dead and three injured, according to a police report.

A pressure-induced bomb left at the entrance door of the office of monthly Adımlar Magazine exploded at around 7.30 p.m. as the door was opened, the Istanbul police department announced. Ünsal Zor, 45, one of the magazine’s writers, died immediately at the scene, while three others were injured and taken to a hospital.

“Ünsal Zor died in the attack on the scene on March 25 around 7.30 p.m. 47-year-old Ali Osman Zor, 30-year-old Cem Türkbiner and 39-year-old Cüneyt Karan were injured as a result of the attack. The investigation into the incident is ongoing,” the police statement read.

Adımlar Magazine, which allegedly has close ties with illegal Turkish Islamist group the Islamic Great East Raiders Front (IBDA-C), has organized campaigns demanding the release of Salih Mirzabeyoğlu, the leader of the group, and supports the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

A recently-founded organization named the People’s Defense Unit has claimed responsibility for the attack.

“Adımlar Magazine was punished for their justification of the massacres. Our actions will continue to the extent that such discourses continue. It is a crime to defend killers. No action will be left unpunished against revolutionists,” the group stated via its Twitter account.

The People’s Defense Unit had recently announced its foundation on Twitter on March 19.

Istanbul Governor Vasip Şahin was reluctant to be drawn on allegations that the bomb had exploded inside the office.

“There is nothing clear about the issue. I cannot confirm that this incident took place inside or outside the office. We can answer this question following the detailed technical investigations,” said Şahin, adding that the investigation into the attack is still underway.

The Turkish Press Council has released a statement denouncing the attack as “a crime against humanity.”

“It is not possible to accept the Adımlar Magazine bomb attack. It is against democratic principles and a crime against the humanity of media organs, founded for expressing ideas, to face such attack, no matter what their worldview is,” the statement read.

The IBDA-C is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. The organization claimed responsibility for the 2003 Istanbul bombings targeting two synagogues, an HSBC Bank and the British Consulate, killing 57 people. Turkish officials at the time named al-Qaeda as the perpetrators of the bombings.