Will Turkey exploit Istanbul attack to bash US, Kurdish groups? - analysis

In the wake of an apparent terrorist attack in Istanbul, Turkey’s authorities have blamed the “PKK/YPG,” two Kurdish groups. Ankara’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has gone further than just blaming these groups; he has alleged that the attack was planned and executed from northern Syria.

The rhetoric from Ankara has shifted overnight, from Sunday evening when Turkish authorities were not sure the explosion was a terror attack to casting a wide net of blame for who is behind the attack. 

The Ankara narrative shift is interesting because it is not proceeded from assessing that the explosion was an attack, to finding out who is responsible and then trying to piece together the story. Rather, it has presented a whole conspiracy without even having shown evidence of what happened. For instance, on Monday morning, reports said that a woman was detained and authorities released or leaked the footage quickly to pro-government sources.

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