“He walked among us”: how Turkey responded to the terrorist attack in Moscow

Russian citizens bring flowers and toys to the Russian Consulate General

Ankara provided Moscow with information about the presence in Turkey of the terrorists who participated in the attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall. This was reported by the newspaper Hürriyet, citing its sources. Two of the four arrested traveled from Russia to Turkey and then returned.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was one of the first to express condolences to the Russian government and people over the incident. “We express our condolences to the Russian government in connection with the terrorist attack on a concert hall in Moscow and strongly condemn this attack,” the president said during a rally in Ankara.

The Turkish authorities paid close attention to reports from the Russian leadership that two terrorists arrived in Moscow from Istanbul, the Hurriyet newspaper writes, citing sources. According to the publication, Ankara has studied the data on the attackers and is informing Moscow about all events.

Responsibility for the terrorist attack in Crocus was claimed by a cell of the terrorist organization ISIS, banned in Russia, Vilayat Khorasan. “As a country that knows well this bloody and insidious face of terrorism, we share the pain of the Russian people,” Erdogan said.

Operation Bozdoğan-16 was carried out in Turkey as part of the fight against terrorism. 40 suspects were arrested in 8 provinces of the country during the operation against ISIS (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation – editor’s note),” wrote the head of the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ali Erlikaya.

It is not specified whether this operation is connected with the terrorist attack in the Russian capital. The Turkish authorities regularly report on the work carried out to combat various terrorist groups and their supporters. In the first three months of 2024 alone, Turkish security forces neutralized more than 600 militants.

Local media widely cover the terrorist attack that took place in Moscow: they express condolences and publish international reactions to this event. Russian citizens living in Turkish cities also brought flowers and children’s toys to the Russian consulates.

Some publications accused the Turkish security forces of “letting” the terrorist through. TELE1 editor-in-chief Merdan Yanardag noted that law enforcement agencies should more carefully check the details of people when crossing the border. “This is a sign that the security forces’ reflexes to Islamist terrorism have dulled,” he writes.

Yanardag gave the example of photographs that were found in the possession of one of the attackers. “He ate a hearty breakfast, prayed at the Fatih Mosque… wandered among us in Istanbul,” he noted, adding that terrorism has no religion. “Any type of violence or attack against peaceful forces is an act of terrorism,” said the editor-in-chief of TELE1.