Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

On May 25, a policeman was killed and 18 others wounded in a suicide bombing outside
a police station in the central Turkish province of Kayseri.
On August 4, clashes between Kurdish rebels and the Turkish military near the Iraqi
border left 22 people dead, according to reports quoting the area’s governor. Turkish
media reported the rebels launched simultaneous attacks on Turkish border posts, causing
casualties in the village of Gecimli in Hakkari province.
On August 9, a vehicle belonging to the Turkish Navy was bombed in Foca, a small
coastal resort north-west of Izmir; two navy personnel were killed and another was
injured.
On August 20, a remote-controlled car bomb exploded outside a police station in
Gaziantep, close to the border with Syria. At least nine people were killed and 69 were
injured, most of them police officers. Security officials suspected the PKK was behind
the attack, although the group later denied this.
On September 2, around 100 suspected PKK fighters simultaneously attacked four
government and security buildings in the small town of Beytüşşebap, near the Syrian
border, killing at least 10 soldiers and three of the attackers; seven soldiers were injured.
On September 11, a policeman was killed and several injured in a suicide bombing at a
police station in the Sultangazi district of Istanbul. The DHKP-C claimed responsibility.
On September 16, a roadside bombing in Turkey's southeastern Bingol Province killed
eight soldiers and injured nine others, less than a day after four officers were killed in an
attack near the borders with Iran and Iraq.
On September 18, PKK militants killed 10 soldiers and wounded at least 60 when they
fired rockets at a military convoy traveling between the provinces of Bingol and Mus in
eastern Turkey.
On September 25, an IED hidden in a car exploded as an Army patrol was passing by in
the eastern Turkish city of Tunceli, killing six soldiers and a civilian. Several others were
injured in the blast, which authorities blamed on the PKK.
On December 11, one police officer was killed and two civilians were injured in an attack
in the Gaziosmanpasa district of Istanbul.
Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: The Council of Europe Convention on
Prevention of Terrorism entered into force for Turkey on July 1, 2012. Also, Turkey deposited
the instrument of ratification for the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of
Nuclear Terrorism on September 24.
As a result of ongoing military operations targeting PKK forces, 494 insurgents were killed, 21
injured, and 44 arrested, while 155 surrendered themselves to the authorities during the first 10
months of the year. Counterterrorism law enforcement efforts in Turkey remained focused on the
domestic threat posed by several terrorist groups, including the PKK. Turkey’s methodology and
legislation are geared towards confronting this internal threat.
Efforts to counter international terrorism are hampered by legislation that defines terrorism
narrowly as a crime targeting the Turkish state or Turkish citizens. This definition of terrorism
posed concerns for operational and legal cooperation. Several AQ-affiliated operatives were
temporarily detained by Turkish National Police (TNP) authorities while transiting Turkey, but
were deported to their countries of origin as expeditiously as possible. Also, criminal procedure
secrecy rules prevent TNP authorities from sharing investigative information once a prosecutor is
assigned to the case.
99