Daesh Claims Responsibility For Car Bombing In Turkey’s Diyarbakir
MEP: The Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) terror group announced on Friday that it was behind a car bombing in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir in which at least ten people were killed and around 100 wounded, a statement by its Amaq news agency said.
'Amaq reported #ISIS responsibility for #Diyarbakir car bombing, 2 days after ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called for attacks in #Turkey pic.twitter.com/nzOmOa10Y0
— SITE Intelligence Group (@siteintelgroup) November 4, 2016
The blast occurred close to the Diyarbakir state prison, where some of the opposition leaders, arrested late last night by Turkish police, are believed to be held.
The attack came as Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had called for attacks in Turkey in a speech earlier this week, according to AP.
“[The attack] could be retaliation by [ISIL] for the fact that Turkey is now participating in the coalition against [ISIS],” Bulent Aliriza, Director of the Turkey Project and Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told Al Jazeera.
In the aftermath of the explosion, the Diyarbakir governor issued a statement, claiming that the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was behind the attack. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also attributed the attack to the PKK, saying that one of the deceased was a suspected member of the outlawed group. Ankara has accused HDP of having links to the PKK.
