injured. Although nobody has yet to claim responsibility, officials from Turkey and

the United States have said that early evidence points to the Islamic State. In the last year,

ISIS and other terror groups have staged at least 14 attacks across Turkey, killing roughly

280 people. So, why has Turkey been victim to so many terror attacks?

Well, Turkey is uniquely vulnerable. The country borders Iraq and Syria, where the Islamic

State and other terror groups have strong footholds, and it has taken in more than two-and-a-half

million Syrian refugees, more than any other country. Turkey has also opposed and fought

ISIS, as well as the Syrian government and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, and their

Syrian affiliates

Turkey’s involvement in the Syrian civil war began during the 2011 Arab Spring. Turkey’s

then Prime Minister, now President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan [reh-JEHP  t-eye-YEEP  ERR-doh-ahn]

called Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s crackdown on anti-government protesters an

“injustice” not unlike Hitler’s tactics in Nazi Germany. Soon after, war broke out

between the Syrian government and rebel forces, with Turkey backing the rebels.

As a result, the Turkish government has long tolerated the passage of militant fighters

through the country into Syria, ostensibly to fight against Assad. However, experts say

that once they get to Syria, they often instead join the Islamic State. In fact, Turkey has

been dubbed the “Gateway to Jihad”, as some estimate that anywhere from 80 to 90

percent of foreign based ISIS fighters have, at one point, passed through the country.

When the Turkish government caught wind of this in 2015, it began cracking down on domestic

ISIS networks and strengthened security along the country’s more than 500-mile border

with Syria. According to US intelligence, Turkish police have detained more than 1,300

suspected ISIS fighters in the last year. Many speculate that the recent string of ISIS-related

terror attacks in Turkey is the Islamic State’s response to these actions.

Meanwhile, Turkey has rekindled its decades-old conflict with the PKK, a violent rebel group

representing the country’s largest ethnic minority, the Kurds. Unlike ISIS, who have

been known to target tourists and civilians, the PKK tends to target police, military and

government officials. Within the last year, Kurdish militants have allegedly staged as

many as 8 terror attacks in Turkey.

This is all under the backdrop of Turkey’s evolving role in geopolitics, which many argue

is increasingly pro-western, in an attempt to join the European Union. In fact, one reason

Turkey has taken in so many migrants, is that it has agreed to admit those seeking refuge

in Greece, in exchange for an accelerated path to EU membership. What’s more, just

days before the Istanbul Airport attack, Turkey normalized relations with Israel, which ISIS

has specifically declared war on.

Turkey’s controversial role in global relations between some of the most dangerous ongoing

conflicts has made it a prime target of anger from all sides. Meanwhile, Turkey’s own

internal issues with disenfranchised minority populations, as well as heavy censorship and

Erdogan’s oppression of his own people has done little to promote stability. Its likely

that as long as Turkey is in such a volatile situation, the country will continue being

targeted.

For years, Turkey has faced attacks from ISIS — but in spite of this, the president has

taken little action to protect its borders against the terrorist group. Could ISIS take

over Turkey? Find out in our video. (sound up) Thanks for watching.