Thu Jun 30, 2016 18:28:32
The latest bloody attack on civilians at Istanbul's Ataturk airport proves Turkey is at the mercy of ISIS militants.
The bombs ripped through the busy airport terminal. Gunfire echoed. Hundreds of travelers and airport workers ran in terror while others dove for cover. Blood spilled on the floor as outside, screeching ambulances parted the crowd of stunned travellers.
The gun and bomb attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk international airport on Tuesday could signal the opening of a new front in the war with the ISIS militants who control parts of Iraq and Syria. Losing ground on battlefields throughout the region, ISIS is seeking desperately to reclaim headlines through a campaign of attacks on civilians in the Middle East, Europe, and beyond.
Turkey has become the central target in that campaign. The June 28 bombings, which killed at least 41 people and injured over 200, were the fifth major attack on civilians in Turkey thought to have been carried out by ISIS in the last year. The slaughter at the airport raises the stakes of the conflict, dealing another blow to Turkey’s economy, raising alarms in Europe, and heaping more pressure on Turkey’s leaders to stabilize the country’s southern border with Syria. It is one more sign that otherwise stable Turkey is being drawn deeper into the regional crisis emanating from Iraq and Syria.
No group had claimed responsibility for the attack on the airport as of late Wednesday, but Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim swiftly assigned blame. “The evidence points to Daesh,” he was quoted as saying, using the Arabic acronym for the group.
212-11
string(2746) "[{"id":"1833661","sort":"3576043","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636028836630854136_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"PHOTOS: Iraqi Popular Forces Pound Heavily ISIS Terrorists in Makhoul Mountains"} ,{"id":"1833687","sort":"3576044","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636028898497444296_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Photos Show Fat ISIS Terrorist Seems to be New Bulldozer of Syria’s Raqqa"} ,{"id":"1833708","sort":"3576045","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636028921379963818_25f_4x3.mp4","title":"VIDEO: 250 ISIS Militants Killed in US-led Coalition Airstrikes near Iraq's Fallujah"} ,{"id":"1833718","sort":"3576046","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636028934826001620_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"10k+ Troves of ISIS Documents Seized by US-Backed Syrian Rebels on Manbij Doorstep"} ,{"id":"1833730","sort":"3576047","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636028959374563695_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"How ISIS Fraying at the Edges
2 Years after Its Declaration?"} ,{"id":"1833732","sort":"3576048","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636028961103466534_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Donald Trump Says Many Syrian Migrants in US are ISIS Militants"} ,{"id":"1833734","sort":"3576049","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636028971699526477_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Disappointed to Persuade Son Who Left with Girlfriend to Join ISIS, General Killed in Istanbul Attack"} ,{"id":"1833736","sort":"3576050","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636028979323120041_25f_4x3.mp4","title":"GRAPHIC VIDEO: Iraqi Army Kills Saudi Arabian ISIS Militants near Fallujah"} ,{"id":"1833743","sort":"3576051","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636028990110559299_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Turkey Police Arrest 13 during Anti-ISIS Raids"} ,{"id":"1833755","sort":"3576052","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636029004570157971_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Syrian Jets Raze ISIS Positions, Fortifications in South Palmyra"} ,{"id":"1833765","sort":"3576053","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636029012934461523_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Hezbollah Fighters, Syrian Forces Ruin ISIS Pumping Stations near Lebanese Border"} ,{"id":"1833774","sort":"3576054","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636029029188275890_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Lebanon Army Repels Terror Attacks by ISIS on Bustling Areas"} ,{"id":"1833780","sort":"3576055","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636029031904913108_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"The Grade for Airstrikes Targeting ISIS is 5 out of 10: US Air Force Intel Chief"} ,{"id":"1833805","sort":"3576056","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/06/30/alalam_636029060389034699_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"How Erdogan Enabled ISIS to Attack the Turks?"} ]"