Türkiye's interior minister blames US for İstanbul bombing, again

Photo: AA

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Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has implied that the US was behind the November 13 bomb attack in İstanbul, which left six people killed and 81 others injured.

The attack was an attempt to "drag Türkiye into global instability," the minister said today (November 18) at a meeting of the parliament's Planning and Budget Committee, where he presented the ministry's 2023 draft budget.

"The message given by the global masters, most notably the US, is intended to prevent Türkiye, which is on the journey of full independence, and prevent its efforts to bring stability to regions around and to speak its words to the world," he remarked.

Referring to a September attack by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that left a police officer killed, he said, "In both incidents, the organization, the place where the instructions came from and the level of training given to the [assailants] indicate the greatness of the global system's plans against us.

"The İstiklal Avenue attack is one of the countless civilian massacres of the PKK we have seen. We found the perpetrator. Now we are revealing the structure behind it."

Both attacks were plotted in Manbij, a Syrian city under the control of Kurdish groups, Soylu claimed.

A day after the attack, Soylu also blamed the US, saying, "We don't accept the condolences of the US Embassy. We can't be allies with those who send money [to Kurdish groups in Syria] from their senator's offices."

He had called the PKK "pawns," implying that the US was behind them.

In those remarks, he had said the attack was planned in Kobanî, another town controlled by the Kurdish groups in Syria.

Government officials have blamed the PKK and the Kurdish armed groups in Syria, which they consider the PKK's extensions.

The US has been supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDG), a Kurdish-led armed group.

In response to Soylu, a spokesperson for the US embassy in Türkiye had told the T24 news portal that "the US condemns terrorism in all its forms" and "acts in solidarity with our NATO ally Türkiye."

Despite Soylu's remarks, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan thanked US President Joe Biden, whom he met on Tuesday at the G20 summit in Indonesia, as well as other world leaders.

He also shared a message on Twitter with flags of the countries that expressed condolences over the attack. (AS/VK)