Turkey attack spillover of IS war on Kurds

Ankara

A deadly suicide bombing in southern Turkey appears to be part of the Islamic State group's war against the Kurds, and shows the country's growing vulnerability to the conflict in neighbouring Syria, analysts say.

The attack on Monday on a gathering of pro-Kurdish activists in Suruc along the Turkish-Syrian border, which killed at least 32 people, bore the hallmarks of the Sunni extremist organisation.

"Thus far, even without an IS claim of responsibility, the group seems the most likely perpetrator," said Charles Lister, an analyst at the Brookings Doha Centre.

"The attack method, the specific target and the political implications of the attack all point towards an IS motive, for now."

Turkey was quick to blame IS for the bombing of the cultural centre the first time it has directly accused the group of carrying out an act of terror on Turkish soil.

The young victims were preparing for an aid mission to the devastated Syrian town of Kobane, which became a symbol of resistance against the jihadists, who were driven out by Kurdish forces in January. 

Since then, the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) have gradually seized territory from IS in northern Syria with support from US-led air strikes. Their advances have prompted a counteroffensive, with IS attacking Kobane as well as the cities of Hasakeh and Qamishli in the past month alone.

 In general it seems like there has been a real but late crackdown on IS in Turkey," said Max Abrahms, a terrorism expert and professor at Northeastern University. "The fact that there would then be presumably an IS attack against Turkey isn't at all surprising."