Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ISTANBUL395
2008-07-28 11:16:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Istanbul
Cable title:
BOMBINGS TARGET NONDESCRIPT ISTANBUL NEIGHBORHOOD
how-toVZCZCXRO7539 PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHIT #0395 2101116 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 281116Z JUL 08 FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8339 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000395
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER ASEC
SUBJECT: BOMBINGS TARGET NONDESCRIPT ISTANBUL NEIGHBORHOOD
REF: 07/28/08 RSO SPOT REPORT
UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000395
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER ASEC
SUBJECT: BOMBINGS TARGET NONDESCRIPT ISTANBUL NEIGHBORHOOD
REF: 07/28/08 RSO SPOT REPORT
1. Two bombs exploded within minutes of each other on the
night of July 27 killing at least 17 people and wounding more
than 150 (see ref) in the Istanbul residential neighborhood
of Gungoren. Gungoren is a lower-middle-class to
middle-class neighborhood in Istanbul's western suburbs
virtually indistinguishable from other nearby neighborhoods.
2. Like much of the city, Gungoren underwent rapid
development due to urban migration in the 1950s and 60s,
transforming what was once a largely industrial area into a
residential district. Today, 271,000 people live in the six-
to seven-story apartment buildings that line the
neighborhood's narrow streets, making the area moderately
crowded by Istanbul standards. With the exception of the
international airport, there is little in any of Istanbul's
western suburbs, including Gungoren, that would attract
tourists.
3. Neither Gungoren nor its surrounding districts have a
considerable Kurdish population. Media reports indicate some
of the culprits from the 2003 Istanbul bombings came from the
nearby neighborhood of Bagcilar. The three gunmen who
attacked the Consulate General on July 9 lived in
Kucukcekmece, a neighborhood further to the west beyond the
airport. In December 2007, Kucukcekmece was the site of a
series of arson attacks on parked cars. Both Bagcilar and
Kucukcekmece are poorer than Gungoren. Politically Gungoren
is dominated by the AKP and CHP. The parties received 50 and
30.5 percent of the vote respectively in the 2007
parliamentary elections.
4. The Turkish National Police have not speculated on the
identity or affiliation of the bombers. Press speculation
however is rife, with most commentators at a loss to explain
why terrorists would target a neighborhood as nondescript as
Gungoren.
OUDKIRK
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER ASEC
SUBJECT: BOMBINGS TARGET NONDESCRIPT ISTANBUL NEIGHBORHOOD
REF: 07/28/08 RSO SPOT REPORT
1. Two bombs exploded within minutes of each other on the
night of July 27 killing at least 17 people and wounding more
than 150 (see ref) in the Istanbul residential neighborhood
of Gungoren. Gungoren is a lower-middle-class to
middle-class neighborhood in Istanbul's western suburbs
virtually indistinguishable from other nearby neighborhoods.
2. Like much of the city, Gungoren underwent rapid
development due to urban migration in the 1950s and 60s,
transforming what was once a largely industrial area into a
residential district. Today, 271,000 people live in the six-
to seven-story apartment buildings that line the
neighborhood's narrow streets, making the area moderately
crowded by Istanbul standards. With the exception of the
international airport, there is little in any of Istanbul's
western suburbs, including Gungoren, that would attract
tourists.
3. Neither Gungoren nor its surrounding districts have a
considerable Kurdish population. Media reports indicate some
of the culprits from the 2003 Istanbul bombings came from the
nearby neighborhood of Bagcilar. The three gunmen who
attacked the Consulate General on July 9 lived in
Kucukcekmece, a neighborhood further to the west beyond the
airport. In December 2007, Kucukcekmece was the site of a
series of arson attacks on parked cars. Both Bagcilar and
Kucukcekmece are poorer than Gungoren. Politically Gungoren
is dominated by the AKP and CHP. The parties received 50 and
30.5 percent of the vote respectively in the 2007
parliamentary elections.
4. The Turkish National Police have not speculated on the
identity or affiliation of the bombers. Press speculation
however is rife, with most commentators at a loss to explain
why terrorists would target a neighborhood as nondescript as
Gungoren.
OUDKIRK