Why Does ISIS Target Specifically Kilis?

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Not taking any measures against the rocket attacks ongoing for a while now has been protested at different platforms. Kilis artisans have shut down the stores. They are voicing their protests with the writings such as “We are closed because of rocket attacks”, “Kilis is dying. Long live homeland”.

Kilis trade bodies placed an ad on the newspapers on May 6, calling officials ranging from the President to the General Staff: “Hurry up. We are dying…”

There was an attention grabbing sentence in the ad: “Kilis is under attack. Homeland is under attack”.

Vice Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson, Numan Kurtulmuş informed as to the attacks on Kilis following the meeting of Council of Ministers held on April 26. According to the information Kurtulmuş delivered, 17 people killed, 61 others wounded in 46 rocket attacks launched by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from January 18 to April 26.

One of the main topics of the Council of Ministers was the attacks against Kilis. In the same press statement, it was announced that additional military precautions will be taken. The emphasis on “additional” in the statement is actually an explanation that precaution was taken earlier because reactions have been arising from different platforms ranging from trade bodies to football games and that the government was abstaining itself from making a statement against ISIS.

“They see ISIS as a detached threat”

İstanbul University Political Science Faculty, Department of Political Science and International Relations member, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hakan Güneş explains this approach as “They deal with the ISIS issue in a package. Within this package, ISIS and PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) usually take place together”.

“They see ISIS as a detached threat and don’t seriously address it”.

The cause of this is multidimensional.

However, according to Güneş a revision occurred in the stance against ISIS. First of all, until recently, “Kilis wasn’t being bombed or Kilis wasn’t being attacked” according to the AKP government, the rockets were “falling” first and started to “accidentally fall” later; when the rocket attacks have intensified, Kurtulmuş’s statement came.

“A revision has occurred in Turkey’s policy”

Güneş claims that “a revision has occurred” in Turkey’s Syrian policy especially concerning ISIS.

Public pressure is an important element in this revision but there are two issues from AKP’s perspective:

“First of all, until now they didn’t want to face off against an ‘Islamic-jihadist organization’ that hog ties them. Especially, if this organization has ‘Islam’ in its name.

“Secondly, they’ve entered a period in which they have to look out for the international balance in Syria and ISIS issues. This means for Turkey to give up its claim of being determinant in Syrian issue. It seeks a blank point in international balance at this point.

“These constitute the reasons why a direct and strong response wasn’t given or even a voice wasn’t raised against the attacks on Kilis.

“Because international forces don’t let Turkey intervene in PYD-held Afrin and Kobane and especially Russia opposes Turkey’s initiating a ground military activity”.        

First to reach out to the fire of ISIS

According to Hakan Güneş, “under these circumstances, Turkey does not want to be the first poker to reach out for the fire of ISIS”.

He adds, “Actually, in the battle against ISIS, both international and local forces have similar positions. None of them makes a move against ISIS directly. Because it is assumed that ISIS is in a state of corrosion. It seems that no one, from Barzani to Asad and western powers, wants to be the clear and active fighter and thus be exposed to the sensational response”.

This lies beyond the fact that despite so many rocket attack on Kilis, the military and political response is not getting louder.        

Hakan Güneş reminds of the attack on Antep Police Department: “This was a threat and a warning. They have demonstrated that they were capable of carrying out such attacks with sensational effects. We will see how much more power they have”.

“ISIS considers Kilis a logistic center against itself”

In this situation we should ask the following question; “Why does ISIS target Kilis specifically?”.

This has two reasons.

“First of all, the battle of ISIS against forces on the fields supported by Turkey has intensified in Çobanbey. Kilis is the biggest residential area within the range of Katyusha rockets launched from the war area.

“Secondly, Turkey is using Kilis as a logistic center for the forces it has been supporting. And ISIS is targeting this logistic center”.

Two efforts for land operation

What will Turkey do if the attacks of ISIS specifically on Kilis and generally on Turkey continue?

Hakan Güneş says that Russia and Turkey are in the search of two different paths in Syria for the next period.

“Russia has increased the frequency of its meetings with Germany. They are trying to bring the establishment of a land force to represent the international forces to agenda. This is the impression or what has leaked from the meetings. Turkey also has similar wishes but they formulate it as the ‘land operation of a force consisting of the armys of muslim countries and Saudi Arabia possessing international support. (HK/DG/TK)

* Photo: Kilis/AA-Arşiv