Istanbul bomber registered as a refugee
ISTANBUL: The suicide bomber who carried out an attack in Istanbul’s central tourist district had entered Turkey from Syria and was registered as a refugee, Turkish officials said on Wednesday, adding to concerns over security at the country’s critical border.
The bomber, who died in the attack on Tuesday, was identified as Nabil Fadil, a Syrian citizen and Islamic State (IS) operative who was born in Saudi Arabia in 1988. Mr Fadil entered the country on Jan 5 and was not on a government list of terrorism suspects, according to Turkish officials.
In addition to the revelation about Mr Fadil’s refugee status, Turkish officials said they had detained five people in connection with the attack on Tuesday in the popular historic district of Sultanahmet, which killed 10 German tourists and perhaps others.
That the bomber may have entered Turkey with asylum seekers fleeing the war in Syria is likely to increase fears that militants are exploiting the humanitarian crisis to try to carry out attacks against countries allied against the IS.
Turkey recently closed its southern border with Syria to new migrants, and last week new visa regulations were introduced that require Syrians to have a visa to enter the country by air and sea. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday that Turkey would be taking more visible security measures in densely populated areas.
“This person entered Turkey as an ordinary migrant,” Mr Davutoglu said during a news conference in Istanbul. “Turkey is working to find the true actors behind this attack where Daesh was used as a subcontractor,” he added, using an Arabic name for the IS.
Until now, the IS had limited its targets in Turkey to Kurdish and leftist nationalist groups that it linked to its enemies across the border in Syria. It carried out two major suicide attacks l ast year, including one in the capital, Ankara, in October that killed more than 100 people.
But Tuesday’s bombing was the first major assault aimed at tourists in Turkey. It raised concerns that militants have shifted their tactics to carry out more expansive attacks that include Turkish economic targets.
Analysts say that the attack in Sultanahmet is most likely a response to Turkey’s increased cooperation with the US-led coalition against IS targets in Syria. Turkey is working closely with Washington to seal off its 97km border with Syria to prevent the group from using important transit routes.
“I think this attack was first and foremost a warning issued to the Turkish government for taking a more active role as an ally — reluctant and unenthusiastic, but still an ally — of European countries and the US in the fight against the IS in Syria,” said Erdem Cipa, an assistant professor of history and Near Eastern studies at the University of Michigan.
“Hence an act of violence against German nationals on Turkish soil.”