Tragedy has returned to Istanbul yet again. In the small hours of the new year, a gunman entered the popular Reina nightclub on Istanbul’s Bosphorus coastline and opened fire on party goers. At least 39 people, including at least 15 foreigners, were killed. One of the most popular nightclubs in the city, Reina is included on many international to-do lists for the city. Given the diversity of the clientele, all indicators point to ISIL militants carrying out the early morning attack despite any official confirmation from the Turkish government.
2016 was an unbearably difficult year for Turkey. Last summer, the country was thrown into brief chaos after a coup attempt. The result has been profound for the economy as the Turkish lira has dropped significantly in value. On the foreign policy front, Turkey has had to rethink it position on Syria, leading to vocal protest at home. This is all not to mention the wave of attacks that have targeted civilians and specifically Turkey’s critical tourism industry.
In June, ISIL militants attacked the main international airport – one of the busiest in Europe – with a twin bomb and gun attack that left 41 people dead. Kurdish militants carried out a series of attacks across the country, most recently outside a football match in the centre of Istanbul, claiming 44 lives. And now 2017 has got off to a tragic start with an attack on the heart of Istanbul’s tourism industry.
As this paper recently argued, Turkey is on the front line in the war against extremism. Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, Turkey has been a critical transit point for militants fighting the regime of Bashar Al Assad. Many of those militants have established a foothold inside Turkey from which they are now striking against the state itself. This form of blowback, to borrow the term coined by the CIA, is hard to contain and control.
As we move into the new year, Turkey must rely on the help of its many allies in combating the threat of extremism. This will require cooperation in the form of monitoring and arresting militants in and around the country. As the Turkish leadership moves closer to Russia in crafting a solution for combating the ISIL threat in Syria, the dangers of attacks from militants already in Turkey will increase. While Ankara might want to face this threat alone, insisting that it knows the best way to achieve security, Turkey will not be able to defeat terrorism by itself. It is time for solidarity in the face of these threats.