Erdogan: Turkey Faces One of the Largest Waves of Terrorism in Its History

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, announced that his country is facing one of the "largest waves of terrorism in its history." According to a report on Monday (April 2), Erdogan, in a speech, promised to crush the Islamic State (ISIS) and Kurdish rebels, whom he referred to as the "agents" of recent terrorist attacks in the country. He stated that he would deal with these terrorist groups in the most severe manner possible. Erdogan made these remarks two days after a suicide bombing in Istanbul that resulted in the deaths of four foreign citizens. In the explosion on Saturday (March 29, 2016) near Taksim Square in Istanbul, one Iranian and three Israelis were killed, and dozens, including several Iranians, were injured. The Turkish Ministry of Interior announced that a member of ISIS named Mohammad Ozturk was responsible for this attack. The Turkish President pledged to respond swiftly and forcefully to the terrorists' new strategies while ensuring that "the values of democracy are not sacrificed during this struggle." Two of the four terrorist attacks in Turkey over the past eight months, which left more than 200 victims, have been attributed to ISIS, while two other attacks have been linked to Kurdish rebels. Erdogan's attention is seriously focused on combating the PKK Kurdish rebels, who have been in rebellion against the central government for over 30 years. As the security situation in Turkey worsens, the police on Sunday (April 1) fired tear gas and plastic bullets at Kurdish citizens who had gathered in Istanbul to celebrate Nowruz. This gathering occurred while the Turkish government had banned street celebrations of Nowruz in Ankara, Istanbul, and seven Kurdish provinces due to "security concerns" the previous week. The Istanbul governor's office also did not issue a permit for Nowruz celebrations in the city for the same reason. Several Kurdish activists and their supporters have repeatedly been targeted by terrorist groups, including ISIS. In this context, dozens were arrested during the Kurdish Nowruz gathering in Istanbul. An Iranian was killed, and three others were injured in the Istanbul explosion. Security warnings have been issued to Iranians regarding travel to Turkey. Erdogan expressed condolences to Iran and Israel.