Event Summary:
- August 10, 2015- a vehicle-borne bomb exploded near an Istanbul Police station wounding at least ten people.
- Hours after the bomb attack two assailants opened fire at the security officers that were guarding the damaged police station
- Simultaneously shots were fired at the US Consulate in Istanbul fortunately no casualties were reported
- Two suspects were arrested in connection to the Monday morning attacks with one of them a wounded female.
Analysis:
The wee hours of Monday August 10, 2015 in Istanbul were characterized by a loud blast from a car-borne bomb near a police station that saw at least 10 people injured.
Few hours after the attack, two assailant opened fire at the security officers that were guarding the car bomb crime scene. The two attackers were killed in the gunfight and a police officer later succumbed to injuries at the hospital.
The gunfight at the police station happened almost simultaneous with another at the United State Consulate; no one was reported injured at the consulate.
Following the three incidences, two suspects have been arrested one a wounded woman who was arrested following an operation to hunt down the perpetrators.
Forensic teams and Turkish security agents are working to establish the cause, motive and the people behind the Monday morning violence.
The attacks come amid high tensions as the Turkish government launch attacks against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey and northern Iraq and IS in Syria. The Turkish operations against the PKK have killed at least 390 terrorists and over 400 more.
Additionally, the operation dubbed ‘anti-terror’ has seen the arrest of over 1,300 people with affiliations to terrorist organizations like Islamic State (IS), PKK and Marxist rebels Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) operating in Turkey.
Summary:
The Operation Anti-terror comes amid the United State fighter jets arrival on Turkish Air Base in preparation for the US-led coalition airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria. Washington and Ankara have been in talks to convince Turkey to join in the war against terrorist organization in the region considering her strategic geographical position.
