The real security flaw: Where is the PKK bomber?

Since the last Ankara attack we have been discussing the flaw in our security. Of course, we should be discussing a security flaw, as it had not even been a full month since the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) last attacked the capital city with another car bomb. 

After the previous attack, certain special security strategies were to be implemented, it was declared. However, the PKK was able to strike us one more time. 

The issue is that the first Ankara car bomb attack has not yet been fully solved. Yes, the police worked very efficiently and found the identity of the person who blew himself up inside the car bomb and yes, again, where the car was stolen from was discovered rapidly. However, it has not been discovered yet in detail what happened to the car after the day it was stolen until the day it was blown apart. 

Not only this, but when, where and by whom the bomb was installed is not known. Consequently, the person who built the setup and installed it in the car has not been caught. 

Now, with a high probability, the same person set up and installed the bomb in the second car used in the latest attack. Unless this person is caught, a third, fourth or fifth attack is in question. 

Besides, we cannot assume that this person is the only expert in making a bomb setup and placing it in a car; maybe there are others. Maybe this person is now training his apprentices and assistants. 

Of course, we are talking about an organization that is able to convince an individual who is a university student to become a suicide bomber. We are talking about at least four people who were able to hide under the intelligence radar for weeks despite the extra vigilance of security forces and despite the ongoing investigation into the first Ankara attack.   

But, no doubt, the most important person among these people is the one who was able to install a bomb of this size and power into a sedan that is quite small; a person who added additional flammable material to the main bomb and a bomber who knows how to adjust the direction of the pressure of the explosion.   

We are talking about bombs with high explosive power placed inside the body of the car, inside the seats, below the seats, everywhere, in the trunk, in places that are not easy to be spotted at first glance.

These materials are not that easy to obtain; to transport this heavy load (maybe 100 kilograms) in an automobile, store it and keep it ready until the final order to attack is not easy at all. 

This means that the PKK, in time, has come a long way in resisting intelligence, hiding from the police, the gendarmerie and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT).  

We should also add hiding a very well-trained bomber to this. Currently, the number one security threat against all of us is this bomber; the one who prepared the bombs for the two Ankara attacks. 

Do not forget, preparing a car bomb is meticulous work which lasts many days. For this, one needs a venue that is remote and far from curious eyes. There should be an expert who knows both cars and explosive material very well, who can set up a safe trigger, maybe install the detonator in the car at the last minute and then hand it over to the suicide bomber. 

Until the police finds that expert, or experts, none of us will be comfortable.


Turkey’s stability is Europe’s stability

Terror that stems from both the PKK (or organizations that proudly declared they were cooperating with it) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is directly related to the ongoing civil war in Syria.

As a matter of fact, to a certain extent, just like the war in Syria this terror is a “proxy terror.”

The deal that was struck in Brussels last week during the Turkey-EU summit on the refugee crisis originating from Syria is being debated from several angles. Even though these debates have a justified aspect, one subject is being missed: When looked from the eyes of Europe, Turkey’s security and stability is now Europe’s security and stability. 

When Turkey is going through a problem, now, that threat is directly affecting Europe. 

Terror by itself does not threaten Turkey’s stability, but terror rarely comes alone. What immediately follows is the possibility of economic and political instability. 

While we are going through a period when these threats have intensified, we should push our domestic political agenda behind a little, as we need to get closer to Europe.