Turkey becoming a transit point for world terrorists

Indiana Khaled

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has turned his country into a transit point for international terrorists trying to cross from Europe into Syria and Iraq.

Turkey has also become a meeting and training ground for these terrorists.

An Iraqi court listened recently to the accounts of two terrorists who had carried out attacks in Baghdad and Anbar provinces.

The two terrorists said they had received training in Turkey before entering Iraq.

The first terrorist confessed that he is a member of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Iraqi judiciary said on April 29.

He said he blew up a number of explosive devices at Iraqi army checkpoints.

The second terrorist confessed that he and others had ambushed security personnel and civilians in Anbar several times.

Dubious deals

Ankara contains three training and recruitment camps for jihadists, according to the European Center for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies in the Netherlands.

It said in a report it released in October 2019 that Turkey supports terrorist groups by financing them and buying oil stolen from Iraq and Syria from them.

Turkey helps terrorist groups acquire dangerous materials used in the making of explosives, the center said.

It added that Turkey also offers medical treatment to the injured members of terrorist organizations, such as ISIS), at its hospitals and eases the movement of ISIS terrorist to neighboring states.

According to the center, Turkish authorities turn a blind eye to the presence of ISIS terrorists in the southern city of Gaziantep.

True face of Baghdadi

A former Turkish intelligence officer described Erdogan as the “godfather” of all terrorist groups and the true face of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

In an interview with the channel, Turkey Affairs, the officer revealed that over 60,000 ISIS members had crossed into Syria from Istanbul.

The same officer said that Erdogan’s family had succeeded in amassing a huge wealth by hammering deals with terrorist organizations.

Caliphate dreams

Turkish affairs specialist at Egyptian think tank, Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Bashir Abdel Fattah said relations between Turkey and ISIS are as old as the terrorist organization itself.

“These relations were very clear when Turkey bought the oil ISIS stole from Syria and Iraq for very low prices,” Abdel Fattah told The Reference.