On Tuesday, terror struck at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport when suicide bombers opened fire at bystanders before detonating bombs at various locations in the airport. The bombers, who are from Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, killed at least 44 people while injuring another 239. This means of mass murder adds to the long list of terrorism that is slowly breaking this world apart.
Although ISIS has not taken responsibility for this terrorist attack, officials suspect that the organization is the one to blame. Authorities have evidence that this attack was, in fact, expertly planned to the tee. They suspect that the three bombers came to Turkey from an ISIS stronghold in Syria, and came prepared with suicide bombs and vests. Of course, we don’t know for sure that the attack is ISIS’s fault but some have strong suspicions and convictions that originate from this time of repeated hate and terrorism.This sparked questions as to why the organization has not yet spoken up and claimed responsibility, given their boastful past.
As for now, the victims that survived and the deceased families can only work with the population of Istanbul to piece back together their lives and rebuild their trust and sense of security. World landmarks have also honored the victims by lighting up in Turkey’s flag colors and showing that Turkey is not alone in this time of terror. The effects of the attack can already be seen across seas as airports across the worlds are increasing their security and bracing for a possible second attack. The impending holiday also sets countries that celebrate the Fourth of July, like the U.S, on edge as the national holiday is tainted with fear and remorse.
This attack is one of the hundreds in the world, and not the first terrorist attack in Turkey, or even Istanbul. As they face looming threats from the Islamic State and struggle to rebuild their nation after such terrorist attacks, the population of Turkey have turned the blame on their government who have seemingly failed to protect them at a time of great need of security. Even the Ataturk airport is extremely equipped with security and guards, yet the terrorists were able to breach their system and impose doom. Although, the attack probably would have been much worse, killing much more people had the airport’s security not acted as they did. This wasn’t the first attack in the city, and it will probably not be the last, but until Turkey feels safe once again, every day will hold the threat of another day of terror. The Turkish population hopes that this attack will push their government to further react to ISIS and take serious measures that could prevent this from happening again.
In the past years, Turkey has turned from being a tourist-friendly place of commerce to being a hub of middle-east terror. As the war in Syria spills across the borders of neighboring states, Turkey has taken a lot of the effects of the war. Terrorism in Turkey has not only injured the security of the country but has also had a negative impact on their economy which strongly relies on tourism. Surprisingly, tourists prove to not want to go on vacation to a country burdened with violence and terrorist attacks- who would have known?
As for us, in America, we tend to have the mentality that these terrorist attacks are only happening across the seas. Oh, this could never happen to us. We would never let that happen. Sadly, this mentality has been proven wrong again and again, and we continue to learn that their problems are our problems. Even if the terrorist attack is “all the way over there” and in a “less developed country”, terrorism des not discriminate and we should all be equally concerned.
