The showdown outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey which left six people dead was clearly terrorism and the latest in a test of Western defenses. Gunmen simply pulled up in a car and opened fire at a police security checkpoint at the consulate entrance. Three police officers and three assailants were killed in the shootout. Two other police officers were wounded in the attack. No American assets were hurt.
This is the latest attack in Turkey since November 2003 when a string of bombings targeted the British consulate, two synagogues, and a British-owned bank. The blasts killed more than 70 people.
Turkey faces its own battles with terrorists, including battles between secularist and traditional Muslims, and the ongoing difficulties between Kurdish separatists and the central government. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks just yet but I suspect this is as much a home-grown terrorism as anything else. It is not spectacular enough nor deadly enough to be the markings of an AQ attack.
This is the latest attack in Turkey since November 2003 when a string of bombings targeted the British consulate, two synagogues, and a British-owned bank. The blasts killed more than 70 people.
Turkey faces its own battles with terrorists, including battles between secularist and traditional Muslims, and the ongoing difficulties between Kurdish separatists and the central government. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks just yet but I suspect this is as much a home-grown terrorism as anything else. It is not spectacular enough nor deadly enough to be the markings of an AQ attack.
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