Did Turkish government see Gaziantep attack coming?
Turkish officials apparently ignored intelligence information that warned of the Aug. 20 wedding massacre in Gaziantep.
Turkish authorities have yet to assign blame for the recent wedding massacre at Gaziantep, but they themselves must shoulder a considerable amount of responsibility.
Officials knew months ago that the Islamic State (IS) was considering an attack in Gaziantep, yet they did nothing. Regardless of which group is ultimately found to have committed the Aug. 20 suicide bombing — which killed 54, including 29 children, and wounded more than 90 others — Turkey should have been prepared.
It's certainly no secret that IS has a strong presence in many areas of Gaziantep. Court indictments related to the killing of more than 100 people in Ankara back in October had already indicated the possibility of a Gaziantep attack. Then in May, Yunus Durmaz, the "prince of IS" at Gaziantep, blew himself up — apparently to avoid surrendering to police who raided his home. In his computer, officials found documents about potential attacks.
Durmaz asked Ilham Bal, the chief of IS in Turkey, for permission to launch attacks in Gaziantep and Antalya, particularly against members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but also against civilians.
