Awful! :(
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/istanbul-turkish-media-says-blast-hits-sultanahmet-square-n494506
Quote
Istanbul's Sultanahmet District Hit by Blast; At Least 10 Dead, 15 Wounded
by Aziz Akyavas , Cassandra Vinograd, Alexander Smith and Richard Engel
An explosion in a popular Istanbul tourist area killed at least 10 people, mostly foreigners, and wounded 15 others on Tuesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the blast in the historic Sultanahmet district an act of "terror."
The country's deputy prime minister, Numan Kurtulmus, said a Syrian-born suicide bomber in their 20s was behind the attack.
Most of the dead were foreign tourists, according to Kurtulmus, who said in a televised speech that two of the wounded were in a critical condition.
Norway's foreign ministry confirmed one of its citizens was injured, while Germany's government expressed concern for its nationals and said that a group of German tourists was among those affected by the blast. The German government did not provide further details.
The explosion struck close to a monument called the German Fountain, between the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sofia — the city's famous landmark turned a museum and one of Istanbul's areas most popular with tourists.
Surrounding streets were closed off by authorities in the aftermath and many shops and hotels appeared to have shut their doors. Armed officers and riot police guarded a wider perimeter.
The blast could be heard for miles across the city, and following the explosion there was a flood of activity on social media from people checking on their friends and family.
Majd Egbareia, a 28-year-old nurse from Israel on vacation with his family, was praying in the nearby Blue Moque when the blast shook the square.
"It was one big blast, one massive blast ... it sounded like something you only hear in the movies," Egbareia told NBC News by telephone.
He said he heard a woman screaming and ran to the door to see "three or four bodies" as well as the screaming woman, who was wounded, around 100 feet away.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast in Turkey, which has been grappling with the threat of ISIS-linked extremists.
A double suicide bombing blamed on ISIS killed more than 100 people in Ankara in October, and Turkey has since stepped up its efforts to tackle the militants.
Turkish officials in December said they had detained two suspected ISIS militants and foiled a plot to bomb the New Year's Eve celebrations in its capital, Ankara.
pretext to move in on Syria!
Had a conversation last night with a very young American tourist telling him that the reason I wasn't in Istanbul was that I knew that terrorism was going to get worse. He was going to Istanbul the next day (today) and disagreed with me vehemently. Very sad to be proven right.
Quote from: Queequeg on January 12, 2016, 08:23:15 AM
Had a conversation last night with a very young American tourist telling him that the reason I wasn't in Istanbul was that I knew that terrorism was going to get worse. He was going to Istanbul the next day (today) and disagreed with me vehemently. Very sad to be proven right.
I'm planning a trip ending in Istanbul for March/April :ph34r:
My parents were in Turkey last year and missed getting bombed at the Ankara train station by one day so probably everybody should add it to the countries one probably shouldn't vacation in for the time being.
A friend and former co-worker of mine was in Istanbul on vacation last spring and I worried about her going there. Nothing happened, but this is the kind of thing that I was worried about.
It's a shame too, because I would LOVE to visit Istanbul myself.
Quote from: Caliga on January 12, 2016, 11:17:45 AM
It's a shame too, because I would LOVE to visit Istanbul myself.
Yeah it is one of my dream vacations. Ah well. I really want to go to Egypt also. Maybe decades from now when all of this is just a bad memory.
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:31:17 AM
Yeah it is one of my dream vacations. Ah well. I really want to go to Egypt also. Maybe decades from now when all of this is just a bad memory.
I think you're being a little optimistic. :(
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:31:17 AM
Quote from: Caliga on January 12, 2016, 11:17:45 AM
It's a shame too, because I would LOVE to visit Istanbul myself.
Yeah it is one of my dream vacations. Ah well. I really want to go to Egypt also. Maybe decades from now when all of this is just a bad memory.
Hate to tell you but this has been business as usual there for most of the past 12 000 years. People just didn't have explosives
Did we: violate the Prime Directive. :blush:
Quote from: Tamas on January 12, 2016, 11:38:06 AM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:31:17 AM
Quote from: Caliga on January 12, 2016, 11:17:45 AM
It's a shame too, because I would LOVE to visit Istanbul myself.
Yeah it is one of my dream vacations. Ah well. I really want to go to Egypt also. Maybe decades from now when all of this is just a bad memory.
Hate to tell you but this has been business as usual there for most of the past 12 000 years. People just didn't have explosives
I bet I could have visited Egypt and Turkey in the 60s and everything would have been cool. Hell I could have visited Afghanistan and Iraq just fine as well.
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:59:49 AM
Quote from: Tamas on January 12, 2016, 11:38:06 AM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:31:17 AM
Quote from: Caliga on January 12, 2016, 11:17:45 AM
It's a shame too, because I would LOVE to visit Istanbul myself.
Yeah it is one of my dream vacations. Ah well. I really want to go to Egypt also. Maybe decades from now when all of this is just a bad memory.
Hate to tell you but this has been business as usual there for most of the past 12 000 years. People just didn't have explosives
I bet I could have visited Egypt and Turkey in the 60s and everything would have been cool. Hell I could have visited Afghanistan and Iraq just fine as well.
Exceptions are not the rule.
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:59:49 AM
Quote from: Tamas on January 12, 2016, 11:38:06 AM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:31:17 AM
Quote from: Caliga on January 12, 2016, 11:17:45 AM
It's a shame too, because I would LOVE to visit Istanbul myself.
Yeah it is one of my dream vacations. Ah well. I really want to go to Egypt also. Maybe decades from now when all of this is just a bad memory.
Hate to tell you but this has been business as usual there for most of the past 12 000 years. People just didn't have explosives
I bet I could have visited Egypt and Turkey in the 60s and everything would have been cool. Hell I could have visited Afghanistan and Iraq just fine as well.
But you wouldn't have been able to visit Vietnam or China, and now they're prime tourist destinations.
Quote from: Barrister on January 12, 2016, 12:13:52 PM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:59:49 AM
Quote from: Tamas on January 12, 2016, 11:38:06 AM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:31:17 AM
Quote from: Caliga on January 12, 2016, 11:17:45 AM
It's a shame too, because I would LOVE to visit Istanbul myself.
Yeah it is one of my dream vacations. Ah well. I really want to go to Egypt also. Maybe decades from now when all of this is just a bad memory.
Hate to tell you but this has been business as usual there for most of the past 12 000 years. People just didn't have explosives
I bet I could have visited Egypt and Turkey in the 60s and everything would have been cool. Hell I could have visited Afghanistan and Iraq just fine as well.
But you wouldn't have been able to visit Vietnam or China, and now they're prime tourist destinations.
Hey, if he was the right age, the US Government would have given him an
all expenses paid trip to visit Vietnam. ;)
Quote from: Barrister on January 12, 2016, 12:13:52 PM
But you wouldn't have been able to visit Vietnam or China, and now they're prime tourist destinations.
True. That kind of supports what I am saying though doesn't it?
Quote from: Malthus on January 12, 2016, 12:16:30 PM
Hey, if he was the right age, the US Government would have given him an all expenses paid trip to visit Vietnam. ;)
I always enjoy a vacation where you can get out of the tourist traps and really get out there and mingle with the locals.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fvietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au%2Fphuoc-tuy-province%2Fimages%2Fgallery%2F11660950.jpg&hash=02043283c02c8153fda5b0f9cbe1b3ea3d4afc48)
Sad.
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:59:49 AM
I bet I could have visited Egypt and Turkey in the 60s and everything would have been cool. Hell I could have visited Afghanistan and Iraq just fine as well.
The reporting and 24 hour news cycle plays into a lot of the perceptions. I'll give you that Iraq and Afghanistan are more dangerous now than in the 60s, but I'm not certain about Egypt and Turkey. There was more terrorism in general back then. I think I would feel safer now in the sense that with mass tourism and the internet I could easily arrange a visit with security the whole way.
Actually I think Istanbul is still reasonably safe.
I would like to go to the Egyptian pyramids without going to Egypt.
Quote from: alfred russel on January 12, 2016, 12:42:25 PM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:59:49 AM
I bet I could have visited Egypt and Turkey in the 60s and everything would have been cool. Hell I could have visited Afghanistan and Iraq just fine as well.
The reporting and 24 hour news cycle plays into a lot of the perceptions. I'll give you that Iraq and Afghanistan are more dangerous now than in the 60s, but I'm not certain about Egypt and Turkey. There was more terrorism in general back then. I think I would feel safer now in the sense that with mass tourism and the internet I could easily arrange a visit with security the whole way.
Actually I think Istanbul is still reasonably safe.
There's always been terrorism. The 1960s were notorious for airplane hijackings, for example.
But what is quite different now is the rise of suicide bombers, which were unheard of back then.
Quote from: Maladict on January 12, 2016, 08:54:40 AM
Quote from: Queequeg on January 12, 2016, 08:23:15 AM
Had a conversation last night with a very young American tourist telling him that the reason I wasn't in Istanbul was that I knew that terrorism was going to get worse. He was going to Istanbul the next day (today) and disagreed with me vehemently. Very sad to be proven right.
I'm planning a trip ending in Istanbul for March/April :ph34r:
I had been thinking of it for sometime between Feb and April. :(
I'm surprised it was Istanbul they hit though and not one of the myriad tourist towns on the Turkish coast; are not some of those rather close to Syria?
This will ruin Turkey's tourism anyway, its quite a big source of wealth for them.
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:59:49 AM
Quote from: Tamas on January 12, 2016, 11:38:06 AM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:31:17 AM
Quote from: Caliga on January 12, 2016, 11:17:45 AM
It's a shame too, because I would LOVE to visit Istanbul myself.
Yeah it is one of my dream vacations. Ah well. I really want to go to Egypt also. Maybe decades from now when all of this is just a bad memory.
Hate to tell you but this has been business as usual there for most of the past 12 000 years. People just didn't have explosives
I bet I could have visited Egypt and Turkey in the 60s and everything would have been cool. Hell I could have visited Afghanistan and Iraq just fine as well.
and most women wouldn't have looked like persons too
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on January 12, 2016, 01:52:05 PM
and most women wouldn't have looked like persons too
Here are women in Afghanistan in the 1960s.
(https://upworthy-production.s3.amazonaws.com/nugget/5126775712a387000205061c/attachments/1_Podlich_Afghanistan.jpeg)
Now I am not a great biologist or anything but those resemble persons to me :hmm:
Quote from: Tamas on January 12, 2016, 12:12:37 PM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:59:49 AM
Quote from: Tamas on January 12, 2016, 11:38:06 AM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:31:17 AM
Quote from: Caliga on January 12, 2016, 11:17:45 AM
It's a shame too, because I would LOVE to visit Istanbul myself.
Yeah it is one of my dream vacations. Ah well. I really want to go to Egypt also. Maybe decades from now when all of this is just a bad memory.
Hate to tell you but this has been business as usual there for most of the past 12 000 years. People just didn't have explosives
I bet I could have visited Egypt and Turkey in the 60s and everything would have been cool. Hell I could have visited Afghanistan and Iraq just fine as well.
Exceptions are not the rule.
I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere in the US say from the 1960s or earlier. :P
Quote from: garbon on January 12, 2016, 02:10:51 PM
I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere in the US say from the 1960s or earlier. :P
Push that back a little over a century, and in the right states we could have had us a good old fashioned garbon sale. :menace:
Quote from: Malthus on January 12, 2016, 02:15:14 PM
Push that back a little over a century, and in the right states we could have had us a good old fashioned garbon sale. :menace:
Well legally I think your mother had to be a slave to be a slave. But, you know, it is not like he could have sued you in the courts very easily.
Well I guess it isn't everyday you get to have people talk about owning you. :mellow:
Anyway, I don't think that would be true about Canada. :D
Quote from: garbon on January 12, 2016, 02:19:48 PM
Well I guess it isn't everyday you get to have people talk about owning you. :mellow:
Sorry my history nerd obsession came into play there.
Quote from: garbon on January 12, 2016, 02:19:48 PM
Well I guess it isn't everyday you get to have people talk about owning you. :mellow:
Anyway, I don't think that would be true about Canada. :D
Well, it isn't like we actually established a price. Maybe Languish couldn't afford you. :(
Quote from: Tyr on January 12, 2016, 01:39:59 PM
Quote from: Maladict on January 12, 2016, 08:54:40 AM
I'm planning a trip ending in Istanbul for March/April :ph34r:
I had been thinking of it for sometime between Feb and April. :(
I'm going ahead with planning for now. The trip is not really about Istanbul, it's just the last destination. I'm okay with avoiding the city centre if I have to.
Quote from: Malthus on January 12, 2016, 02:24:36 PM
Quote from: garbon on January 12, 2016, 02:19:48 PM
Well I guess it isn't everyday you get to have people talk about owning you. :mellow:
Anyway, I don't think that would be true about Canada. :D
Well, it isn't like we actually established a price. Maybe Languish couldn't afford you. :(
Well is it pre or during the cotton boom.....sorry.
Quote from: garbon on January 12, 2016, 02:19:48 PM
Well I guess it isn't everyday you get to have people talk about owning you. :mellow:
Anyway, I don't think that would be true about Canada. :D
If you back even further to the 18th century there were small numbers of slaves.
We didn't have plantation agriculture so the economics were all wrong for mass slavery, but there were a few thousand. Some provinces outlawed it earlier but slavery as a whole was only thoroughly banned when it was banned in the Empire in 1834.
Quote from: Barrister on January 12, 2016, 02:35:58 PM
Quote from: garbon on January 12, 2016, 02:19:48 PM
Well I guess it isn't everyday you get to have people talk about owning you. :mellow:
Anyway, I don't think that would be true about Canada. :D
If you back even further to the 18th century there were small numbers of slaves.
We didn't have plantation agriculture so the economics were all wrong for mass slavery, but there were a few thousand. Some provinces outlawed it earlier but slavery as a whole was only thoroughly banned when it was banned in the Empire in 1834.
Which would be more than a little over a century. ;)
So sad, condolences to the families of Turks and other nationalities of those killed and injured in this horror.
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 12:30:47 PM
Quote from: Malthus on January 12, 2016, 12:16:30 PM
Hey, if he was the right age, the US Government would have given him an all expenses paid trip to visit Vietnam. ;)
I always enjoy a vacation where you can get out of the tourist traps and really get out there and mingle with the locals.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fvietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au%2Fphuoc-tuy-province%2Fimages%2Fgallery%2F11660950.jpg&hash=02043283c02c8153fda5b0f9cbe1b3ea3d4afc48)
I think those are Australians, not a criticism of you but a footnote.
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 03:27:17 PM
I think those are Australians, not a criticism of you but a footnote.
Another plus, getting to meet the other expats.
Quote from: Barrister on January 12, 2016, 12:49:32 PM
Quote from: alfred russel on January 12, 2016, 12:42:25 PM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 11:59:49 AM
I bet I could have visited Egypt and Turkey in the 60s and everything would have been cool. Hell I could have visited Afghanistan and Iraq just fine as well.
The reporting and 24 hour news cycle plays into a lot of the perceptions. I'll give you that Iraq and Afghanistan are more dangerous now than in the 60s, but I'm not certain about Egypt and Turkey. There was more terrorism in general back then. I think I would feel safer now in the sense that with mass tourism and the internet I could easily arrange a visit with security the whole way.
Actually I think Istanbul is still reasonably safe.
There's always been terrorism. The 1960s were notorious for airplane hijackings, for example.
But what is quite different now is the rise of suicide bombers, which were unheard of back then.
I think that's a bit of a generalisation, much of the 60s was relatively peaceful, Daweson's Field was really the start of the plane hijacking and that was what 1968?? (not at all sure on that)
edit:wonders off to check.
Oh, it was much later than I guessed, September 70, of course part of the whole Black September crisis; I remember it well now I've seen the wiki. :blush:
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 03:30:34 PM
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 03:27:17 PM
I think those are Australians, not a criticism of you but a footnote.
Another plus, getting to meet the other expats.
Are they Australians, I was just guesing, based on the hats, utility belts and what might be an FN FAL/SLR magazine.
Eight dead were from Germany according to our government.
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 02:06:29 PM
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on January 12, 2016, 01:52:05 PM
and most women wouldn't have looked like persons too
Here are women in Afghanistan in the 1960s.
Now I am not a great biologist or anything but those resemble persons to me :hmm:
messed up the grammar there. When I was in Egypt in 2010 headscarves like that on the picture weren't in sight. It was all the post-1979-islamist-dehumanise-the-women-version, assuming they weren't clothed in even more degrading versions.
The clock has been steadily going backwards in the region for decades now.
Quote from: Zanza on January 12, 2016, 03:49:11 PM
Eight dead were from Germany according to our government.
I wonder to what extent the terrorist was able to pick out germans, of if it is just coincidence (likely). After all, why not try to land another blow on Germany after the new-year-raids.
If Germans were deliberately targeted it was to hurt Turkey's tourist industry. One in six tourists there is from Germany and attacks like this always have a big adverse effect on tourism.
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 03:39:01 PM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 03:30:34 PM
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 03:27:17 PM
I think those are Australians, not a criticism of you but a footnote.
Another plus, getting to meet the other expats.
Are they Australians, I was just guesing, based on the hats, utility belts and what might be an FN FAL/SLR magazine.
Boonie hats were typical for American soldiers in Vietnam. I see an M60 Machine gun and a M79 grenade launcher. Both weapons were used by both nations. So really it could be either.
Quote from: Razgovory on January 12, 2016, 04:44:52 PM
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 03:39:01 PM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 03:30:34 PM
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 03:27:17 PM
I think those are Australians, not a criticism of you but a footnote.
Another plus, getting to meet the other expats.
Are they Australians, I was just guesing, based on the hats, utility belts and what might be an FN FAL/SLR magazine.
Boonie hats were typical for American soldiers in Vietnam. I see an M60 Machine gun and a M79 grenade launcher. Both weapons were used by both nations. So really it could be either.
Americans were black.
Do we know anything about the political or religious background of the suicide bomber?
Quote from: Razgovory on January 12, 2016, 04:44:52 PM
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 03:39:01 PM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 03:30:34 PM
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 03:27:17 PM
I think those are Australians, not a criticism of you but a footnote.
Another plus, getting to meet the other expats.
Are they Australians, I was just guesing, based on the hats, utility belts and what might be an FN FAL/SLR magazine.
Boonie hats were typical for American soldiers in Vietnam. I see an M60 Machine gun and a M79 grenade launcher. Both weapons were used by both nations. So really it could be either.
Yes. What's tipping it for me in the directions of the Aussies if the squareness of the magazine on the rifle and the way a bayonet it attached, looks a bit like an SLR (or whatever the aussie version was called), not sure that an M16 or earlier US rifle would look like that? :unsure:
Quote from: Maladict on January 12, 2016, 02:26:20 PM
Quote from: Tyr on January 12, 2016, 01:39:59 PM
Quote from: Maladict on January 12, 2016, 08:54:40 AM
I'm planning a trip ending in Istanbul for March/April :ph34r:
I had been thinking of it for sometime between Feb and April. :(
I'm going ahead with planning for now. The trip is not really about Istanbul, it's just the last destination.
Well, let's hope not.
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 05:13:12 PM
Yes. What's tipping it for me in the directions of the Aussies if the squareness of the magazine on the rifle and the way a bayonet it attached, looks a bit like an SLR (or whatever the aussie version was called), not sure that an M16 or earlier US rifle would look like that? :unsure:
Looks like an M14 to me. Not at all like an FN.
Is Turkey about to reap the whirlwind of it's dalliance with IS in the past?
If you see what I mean.
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 05:13:12 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 12, 2016, 04:44:52 PM
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 03:39:01 PM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 03:30:34 PM
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 03:27:17 PM
I think those are Australians, not a criticism of you but a footnote.
Another plus, getting to meet the other expats.
Are they Australians, I was just guesing, based on the hats, utility belts and what might be an FN FAL/SLR magazine.
Boonie hats were typical for American soldiers in Vietnam. I see an M60 Machine gun and a M79 grenade launcher. Both weapons were used by both nations. So really it could be either.
Yes. What's tipping it for me in the directions of the Aussies if the squareness of the magazine on the rifle and the way a bayonet it attached, looks a bit like an SLR (or whatever the aussie version was called), not sure that an M16 or earlier US rifle would look like that? :unsure:
I found photos of Aussies using M16s. Patrols often took whatever weapons they thought best. The photo says it was Phuoc tuy province was was the hub of Australian activity for Vietnam, so you very well be right.
Quote from: Razgovory on January 12, 2016, 07:32:38 PM
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 05:13:12 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 12, 2016, 04:44:52 PM
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 03:39:01 PM
Quote from: Valmy on January 12, 2016, 03:30:34 PM
Quote from: mongers on January 12, 2016, 03:27:17 PM
I think those are Australians, not a criticism of you but a footnote.
Another plus, getting to meet the other expats.
Are they Australians, I was just guesing, based on the hats, utility belts and what might be an FN FAL/SLR magazine.
Boonie hats were typical for American soldiers in Vietnam. I see an M60 Machine gun and a M79 grenade launcher. Both weapons were used by both nations. So really it could be either.
Yes. What's tipping it for me in the directions of the Aussies if the squareness of the magazine on the rifle and the way a bayonet it attached, looks a bit like an SLR (or whatever the aussie version was called), not sure that an M16 or earlier US rifle would look like that? :unsure:
I found photos of Aussies using M16s. Patrols often took whatever weapons they thought best. The photo says it was Phuoc tuy province was was the hub of Australian activity for Vietnam, so you very well be right.
Earlier found this Australian government website about their involvement in Vietnam, there's some rather good content on it, especially an even handed series of pages about their Vietnam myths, here:
http://vietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au/vietnam-war/index.php (http://vietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au/vietnam-war/index.php)
3 Russian citizens have been arrested in Turkey in relation to the explosion.
Quote from: garbon on January 12, 2016, 02:19:48 PM
Well I guess it isn't everyday you get to have people talk about owning you. :mellow:
On the internet?
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.meme.am%2Finstances%2F65694945.jpg&hash=53978e1f88faada9b4a436e80be5869b19ed1f75)
Quote from: Tamas on January 13, 2016, 04:33:39 AM
3 Russian citizens have been arrested in Turkey in relation to the explosion.
Chechens or are they accusing the Russian government of being behind it?
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on January 13, 2016, 08:24:08 AM
Quote from: garbon on January 12, 2016, 02:19:48 PM
Well I guess it isn't everyday you get to have people talk about owning you. :mellow:
On the internet?
Languish is the most juvenile place I go. -_-
It's amazing how the Turkish police could identify the perpetrator within a few hours and then arrest 68 people who supported him within a day. Hats off to the efficiency of the Turkish police!
Unlike traditional terrorists (IRA, ETA, etc) Islamists seem to care little about concealing their operations and keeping their networks alive. Or they are rather bad at it. I can't think of a cell that has not been dismantled in days following a significant bombing in the West.
Quote from: Iormlund on January 13, 2016, 12:43:14 PM
Unlike traditional terrorists (IRA, ETA, etc) Islamists seem to care little about concealing their operations and keeping their networks alive. Or they are rather bad at it. I can't think of a cell that has not been dismantled in days following a significant bombing in the West.
I guess when ye olde scum did their bombings they were usually stealthy affairs with bombs placed in bins and maybe the occasional description of "A dark haired guy in a green jacket looking a bit sketchy", not the terrorist running into a crowded area in full view of CCTV and blowing themselves up.
That is something I wonder about- in our modern age of much more efficient surveillance how effective would conventional, non-suicidal, terrorists be.
Quote from: Iormlund on January 13, 2016, 12:43:14 PM
Unlike traditional terrorists (IRA, ETA, etc) Islamists seem to care little about concealing their operations and keeping their networks alive. Or they are rather bad at it. I can't think of a cell that has not been dismantled in days following a significant bombing in the West.
They often had some Soviet help. Those guys were pretty good at trade craft. When trained, the Islamists seem to get nothing more then some basic technical expertise. How to use weapons and how build and set off a bomb. As for the building networks, I think it's pretty much amateur hour.