NOVANEWS
Ramazanova enjoying İstanbul in this undated photo published by a Russian news site.
TODAY’S ZAMAN / ISTANBUL
Diana Ramazanova, the woman who carried out a suicide bomb attack that killed a police officer on Jan. 6 at a police station in İstanbul’s historical Sultanahmet neighborhood, had crossed into Turkey from Syria illegally and stayed in İstanbul for 11 days before carrying out the attack, the Hürriyet daily reported on Friday.
According to the report, it is not yet clear whether Ramazanova brought the two explosives she used in the attack from Syria or if she acquired them from members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The Hürriyet report included details about Ramazanova’s life leading up to the attack. She reportedly became acquainted with a Norwegian citizen of Chechen origin by the name of Abu Aluevitsj Edelbijev through social media. The two became friends and later decided to get married and move to Syria to join ISIL.
Ramazanova is seen in an undated photo.
Ramazanova and Edelbijev crossed the Turkish border into Syria after a three-month honeymoon in İstanbul. After Edelbijev was killed in a fight in December 2014, Ramazanova decided to come back to Turkey and illegally crossed the border into the southeastern province of Gaziantep on Dec. 26, 2014. She then traveled to İstanbul via a rented car. It is not clear how or where Ramazanova acquired to explosives she used in the attack.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Atilla Kart has said that the number of those who have joined ISIL from Turkey has increased. According to Kart, the number of ISIL sympathizers in Turkey was 3,000, according to figures in August 2014, but has grown to 10,000 recently. “They are mainly concentrated in Gaziantep, Hatay and Kilis,” Kart was quoted as saying by the Taraf daily.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Hatay deputy Şefik Çirkin has warned that the number of ISIL militants in Turkey has been increasing. “The AK Party’s [Justice and Development Party] grassroots are sympathizers of ISIL,” Çirkin said, adding: “However, we cannot blame them. The main suspect is the government.”
Referring to unidentified sources, Çirkin said 12,000 Turkish citizens have joined ISIL so far. He also drew attention to the fact that so far Turkish authorities have not led any operations against members or sympathizers of ISIL in the country and that the militant group has not been the subject of discussion in any sessions of the National Security Council (MGK).
According to the report, it is not yet clear whether Ramazanova brought the two explosives she used in the attack from Syria or if she acquired them from members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The Hürriyet report included details about Ramazanova’s life leading up to the attack. She reportedly became acquainted with a Norwegian citizen of Chechen origin by the name of Abu Aluevitsj Edelbijev through social media. The two became friends and later decided to get married and move to Syria to join ISIL.
Ramazanova is seen in an undated photo.
Ramazanova and Edelbijev crossed the Turkish border into Syria after a three-month honeymoon in İstanbul. After Edelbijev was killed in a fight in December 2014, Ramazanova decided to come back to Turkey and illegally crossed the border into the southeastern province of Gaziantep on Dec. 26, 2014. She then traveled to İstanbul via a rented car. It is not clear how or where Ramazanova acquired to explosives she used in the attack.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Atilla Kart has said that the number of those who have joined ISIL from Turkey has increased. According to Kart, the number of ISIL sympathizers in Turkey was 3,000, according to figures in August 2014, but has grown to 10,000 recently. “They are mainly concentrated in Gaziantep, Hatay and Kilis,” Kart was quoted as saying by the Taraf daily.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Hatay deputy Şefik Çirkin has warned that the number of ISIL militants in Turkey has been increasing. “The AK Party’s [Justice and Development Party] grassroots are sympathizers of ISIL,” Çirkin said, adding: “However, we cannot blame them. The main suspect is the government.”
Referring to unidentified sources, Çirkin said 12,000 Turkish citizens have joined ISIL so far. He also drew attention to the fact that so far Turkish authorities have not led any operations against members or sympathizers of ISIL in the country and that the militant group has not been the subject of discussion in any sessions of the National Security Council (MGK).
