Associate Professor Sedat Laçiner, head of an Ankara-based research center, says the target was most likely the Turkish General Staff headquarters, located not far from the multistory parking facility."I am 99 percent sure that the foiled attack is the work of the Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK] because the type of explosives as well as the mobile phones found in the van are giving us a strong clue to that end. If the van found on the second floor of the parking garage had exploded there, it would not have had the serious impact the terrorists would have wanted it to achieve. The van was intended to explode somewhere near the district [Bakanlıklar] where all the military and government buildings along with the Interior Ministry are located," said Laçiner, director of the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK).
Laçiner also raised concerns that similar terrorist plots may be in the works in big cities such as İstanbul as well as in the Southeast, where the separatist PKK is concentrated.
The seizure of a Mercedes van filled with explosives in a parking garage in downtown Ankara, close to a few of the city's hospitals, on the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, has raised questions as to whether this was the work of terrorist organization al-Qaeda. But security sources state that there are no clues indicating that the Ankara incident involved methods used by this terrorist organization.
Laçiner, for his part, stated that in some previous incidents, in Mersin and in İstanbul, when the British Consulate General was targeted, the same explosives -- along with cables and mobile phones to trigger the explosion similar to what the van in Ankara was loaded with -- had been used.
"In my opinion the final destination of the van filled with explosives was the Turkish General Staff. An explosion on the second floor of the parking garage that would have mostly destroyed the cars parked there would not have meant anything for the terrorist organization. Their aim was to explode the van, creating a lethal effect in an area of 2 to 3 kilometers -- near the military and government buildings," Laçiner said.
The area which Laçiner is describing is a busy district which members of the military, including high-ranking commanders, use for transportation. In addition, Parliament and the air forces headquarters are located in same area.
For the terrorists, says, Laçiner, exploding the van, killing hundreds of soldiers or high-ranking officials, would have had the devastating effect to justify their bloody terrorist act.
Laçiner has also stressed the seriousness of the weaknesses at Turkey's border with Iraq.
All the materials used in making explosive devices, including cheap fertilizer, are being smuggled into Turkish cities through the border via truck. Several thousand units of C 4-type explosives have also been smuggled into Turkey from the same point.
"How are those explosives being smuggled into Turkey? This is a serious question which is awaiting an answer," Laçiner stated.
On the political front, if it had succeeded with the aim of creating a spectacular event by killing hundreds, the explosion would have had the potential of playing into the hands of those who have been seeking to justify their existence with the maintenance of a security-centered state.
In this sense, an alleged PKK plot to explode the van in an area near the military would have had weakened the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) policy of furthering democratic reforms.
For the moment, Ankara's police have succeeded in foiling the alleged PKK plan of killing two birds with one stone.
We have been going through a very critical period in which the degree of success achieved by the political leadership in not playing into the hands of security-centric hawks will be a crucial test.
