TRACKING DOWN THE BOMB-MAKER IN ANKARA BOMBING
Who is really behind the Ankara Bombing? The Turkish government has directly implicated the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its militia, the People's Protection Units (YPG), in the Feb. 17 detonation of a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, which killed 28 and injured dozens in downtown Ankara. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at least nine people have been arrested in relation to the attack and identified the bomber as Saleh Najar, a man born in northern Syria who the government claims has links to the PYD and YPG. The attack, which targeted military transport buses near military headquarters, suggested — but did not confirm — a Kurdish link, since military convoys are a popular target of Kurdish militants belonging to Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). However, on February 19 the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), a breakaway faction of Turkey’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has claimed responsibility for the bombing in the Turkish capital. Now looking back, it is very clear that the Turkish government was trying to use the terrorist attack to fortify its long-standing message that PYD, YPG and PKK are terrorist groups and should be treated as such. The Turkish government was quick to implicate the PYD, and the statecontrolled daily newspapers such as Sabah even published a full timeline of the perpetration of the attack labeled as "PYD-linked PKK terrorist attack." It is now clear that Turkey tried to leverage the Ankara bombing to promote its military plans for northern Syria. However, the Turkish government did not fundamentally change the United States' position on Syria's Kurdish groups. The PYD and PKK have also denied any involvement in the incident and the Turkish government failed to put forward robust claims and proofs against PYD. It's been two weeks since the Ankara bombing, and though TAK has finally stepped up to claim responsibility for the attack, investigators have yet to trace the person responsible for building the explosive device. That, and not the organization responsible, should be the authorities' focus if they really intent to uncover more details surrounding the explosion in Ankara. The name or the affiliation of the perpetrator does not change the bombs’ level of sophistication. Whoever constructed the device managed to conceal military-grade TNT in a car without arousing any suspicion when it went through the whole country. That is assuming there wasn't inside help involved! Tracking Down the Bomb-maker: In the Ankara bombing, much attention has been paid to the man who carried out the attack. The quick and misleading claims and declarations of Turkish government even raises even more concerns about the level of background investigation that the Turkish government or the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) carry out before they implicate a culprit!
However, the focus, rather than being on the attacker himself, should be on the person who constructed the explosive. Many intelligence experts in this field learned the hard way that tracking down not just the attacker but the bomb-maker is critical to stopping and disrupting future attacks. There actually aren't that many people in the world capable of constructing and using sophisticated explosive devices properly. That’s of course if we leave the state organizations out of this picture! Bomb-making is a highly sought-after skill that, for a terrorist group, can make the difference between spewing impotent rhetoric and causing massive, headline-generating casualties. If it really was a Kurdish linked organization that orchestrated the February 17 Attack, it would be the first sign that the group has access to a highly skilled bomb-maker. Given the limited number of people who have those skills and the disproportionate damage they can cause, tracking down that individual should be a top priority for those doing the follow-up investigation in the Turkish government. Surprisingly, that does not seem to be the modus vivendi in the Turkish government or the National Intelligence Organization (MİT)! Even the history of the recent attacks in Turkey proves this very unpleasant fact. In January 2016 at least 10 people, mostly German tourists, were killed in a suspected IS suicide bombing in Istanbul. In October 2015, more than a hundred people were killed in a doublesuicide bombing at a Kurdish peace rally in Ankara. In July 2015, in the predominantly Kurdish town of Suruç, near the Syrian border, over 30 people were killed in a suicide bombing, again blamed on IS. Details related to the explosive devices’ composition, or the person who constructed the explosive have yet to be released. From the very brief and vague public releases with regards to the explosives used in these attacks, the same fingerprint can be traced in all the explosives used in these attacks. Especially in the last attack, the bomb-maker must have left very clear and distinctive finger prints. It is clear that a large amount of TNT has been used in February 17 Attack, and every intelligence organization knows (!) that in order to simultaneously set off explosives larger than 10 kilograms, it is necessary to build a fuse-detonator-booster and the main explosive chain. Booster is a vital explosive to set off the main body of explosives (TNT) simultaneously. It is nearly impossible to “fabricate” a booster, and only military organizations, or some other government agency have access to this explosive. So if Turkish government, or the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) is still adamant to turn a blank eye to these very clear facts and clues that will lead to the bomb-maker, than the Turkish Armed Forces should not fall into the same pitfall. In the end, the TAF personnel has been the main target of this attack, and unless the “bomb-maker” is not tracked down nobody can guarantee that there will be no further attacks! TAF can start from tracking down the TNT inventories of its own commands as well as other Turkish government agencies, including MİT. Recent unexplained or unaccounted changes in the TNT inventory will give a great headway. Details such as LOT numbers and specifics such as the color of the fuse will give more clue…
One final question that may clear the way for the “unexplained unwillingness” of the Turkish government, or the MİT to track down the bomb-maker. Who Gains From the Ankara Bombing?