Terrorism in Turkey
Terrorism in Turkey is a significant issue for Turkish authorities. While the government labels deaths in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict as terrorism related, this is disputed by others. In addition, involvement in the Syrian Civil War and radical political elements in the country have also been a source for alleged terrorist incidents. Terrorist attacks have had a negative impact on the country's tourism sector.
History
According to Nadir Öcal and Jülide Yildirim, most of the terrorist incidents in Turkey have been concentrated in South Eastern and Eastern Turkey and major cities.1970s
in Turkey in the 1970s stemmed from the student protest movement in the 1960s. Leftist radicals first attempted to challenge the political regime by use of sit-ins, street demonstrations, and the establishment of a new political party, the Turkish Labor Party. After only receiving 3% of the popular vote in the 1965 election, and 2.7% four years later, leftist radicals began to turn to a more militant approach. Knowledge on the use of explosives and weapons was provided by the Palestine Liberation Organization.Left-wing terrorism began in 1969 when the Proletarian Revolutionaries and Proletarian Socialists formed the Federation of Revolutionary Youth of Turkey. Terror activities included bank robberies, bombings and kidnappings. In 1971, the military declared martial law to arrest revolutionaries. By 1973, these incidents had stopped.
Two Armenian groups conducted a number of terror attacks aimed at Turkish diplomats, ASALA and JCAG. These attacks spawned a period of ten years from 1975 to 1985. Their efforts were mostly based overseas, but some attacks occurred in Turkey such as the May 1977 bombing of the Istanbul airport and railway.
Between 1976 and 1980, more than 5,000 people were killed in hundreds of terrorist incidents.
1980s and 1990s
In the 1980s and 1990s, Jihadist terrorism in Turkey was an isolated phenomenon represented by the Turkish Hezbollah and the Great Eastern Islamic Raiders' Front. Since the 2000s, there has been a rise in attacks from Islamist groups, some with links to Al-Qaeda. One group that has been studied by researchers is the Turkish Hezbollah.In the 1990s, Islamic terrorist organizations were active in Turkey. Their objective was to bring down the secular democratic regime in Turkey and to establish an Islamic Sharia‐based state. In July 1993, an arson attack took place where extremists set fire to a hotel where a cultural festival was taking place. Islamic groups attacked and threatened Jewish personalities and the Jewish community in Turkey.
In the course of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict there were an estimated 30,000-35,000 deaths between 1984 and 2000, mainly in Eastern and Southeastern Turkey. While the Turkish government position has been to classify the deaths in the conflict as terror related, other dispute this claim and allege human right violations by the Turkish authorities.
2000s
2010s
The 2016 Atatürk Airport attack, consisting of shootings and suicide bombings, occurred on 28 June 2016 at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Three ISIL-linked terrorists murdered forty-five people and injured 230.The Dokumacılar is an Islamic terrorist group composed of about 60 Turkish militants who joined ISIL. The group is responsible for the 2015 Suruç bombing which resulted in 32 deaths.
Other attacks, including the 2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting, were perpetrated by ISIL.
2020s
In February 2020, an Istanbul court acquitted novelist Aslı Erdoğan of charges of terrorist group membership and "undermining national unity". She was one of several staff members of the pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem accused of having ties to Kurdish militants.Effects on voting behavior
The effects of terrorism on voting behavior in Turkey." Journal of Conflict Resolution 55, no. 2 : 220-247Terrorist incidents
| Name | Year | Deaths |
| Occupation of the Ottoman Bank | 1896 | 10 |
| Yıldız assassination attempt | 1905 | 26 |
| Ankara Esenboğa Airport attack | 1982 | 9 |
| 1999 Istanbul bombings | 1999 | 13 |
| Blue Market massacre | 1999 | 13 |
| 2003 Istanbul bombings | 2003 | 57 |
| 2005 Kuşadası minibus bombing | 2005 | 5 |
| Turkish Council of State shooting | 2006 | 1 |
| 2007 Ankara bombing | 2007 | 6 |
| Zirve Publishing House massacre | 2007 | 3 |
| 2008 Diyarbakır bombing | 2008 | 5 |
| 2008 United States consulate in Istanbul attack | 2008 | 6 |
| 2008 Istanbul bombings | 2008 | 17 |
| 2010 Hakkâri bus bombing | 2010 | 10 |
| 2010 Istanbul bombing | 2010 | 1 |
| 2011 Ankara bombing | 2011 | 3 |
| 2012 Gaziantep bombing | 2012 | 9 |
| 2013 United States embassy bombing in Ankara | 2013 | 2 |
| 2013 Reyhanlı car bombings | 2013 | 52 |
| 2015 Istanbul suicide bombing | 2015 | 2 |
| 2015 Sabiha Gökçen Airport bombing | 2015 | 1 |
| 2015 Ankara bombings | 2015 | 109 |
| January 2016 Istanbul bombing | 2016 | 14 |
| February 2016 Ankara bombing | 2016 | 30 |
| February 2016 Diyarbakır bombing | 2016 | 6 |
| March 2016 Ankara bombing | 2016 | 38 |
| March 2016 Istanbul bombing | 2016 | 5 |
| March 2016 Diyarbakır bombing | 2016 | 7 |
| 2016 Bursa bombing | 2016 | 1 |
| May 2016 Diyarbakır bombing | 2016 | 3 |
| May 2016 Dürümlü bombing | 2016 | 16 |
| May 2016 Gaziantep bombing | 2016 | 3 |
| June 2016 Istanbul bombing | 2016 | 13 |
| June 2016 Midyat bombing | 2016 | 5 |
| 2016 Atatürk Airport attack | 2016 | 48 |
| August 2016 Gaziantep bombing | 2016 | 57 |
| October 2016 Istanbul bombing | 2016 | 0 |
| 2016 Şemdinli bombing | 2016 | 16-32 |
| 2016 Kayseri bombing | 2016 | 15 |
| November 2016 Diyarbakır bombing | 2016 | 11 |
| December 2016 Istanbul bombings | 2016 | 48 |
| Istanbul nightclub shooting | 2017 | 39 |
| 2017 İzmir courthouse attack | 2017 | 4 |