He had been guarding the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, as he'd done many other days -- with commitment and professionalism. She had gone there to have tea with the ambassador, a respected television journalist set to renew acquaintances with a diplomat and do her job.
Then came the blast.
Whether or not they'd
crossed paths before, these two people's stories now forever will be
intertwined -- thanks to a man Turkish authorities say belonged to the
Marxist Leninist organization known as the Revolutionary People's
Liberation Party, or DHKP-C, which the U.S govarment and others label a terrorist organization.
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Ecevit Sanli, as he was
identified by Istanbul police, died after detonating his bomb near the
embassy's Gate No. 2 around 1:15 p.m. (6:15 a.m. ET) Friday.
So, too, did the Turkish
guard -- described by U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone as a "hero,"
and identified by Turkey's semi-official Anadolu News Agency as Mustafa
Akarsu.
A photo showed the
journalist being carried away on a stretcher, apparently bleeding.
Rather than sitting with her for tea, Ricciardone visited the woman --
Didem Tuncay -- at Ankara's Numune Hospital, and afterward described her
as "one of the best."
While theories have been
floated, neither Turkish nor U.S. authorities have detailed why they
think Sanli blew himself up. Prior to Friday, he was known to U.S. and
other intelligence agencies, a U.S. law enforcement source told CNN.
Whatever Sanli's
rationale, the explosion spurred security clampdowns at diplomatic
facilities in Turkey, plus messages of condolences and solidarity.
Turkish Prime Minster Recep called it an attack "against the peace and welfare of our country."
Yet the violence reverberated well beyond Turkey's borders, however, especially in the nation whose embassy was targeted.
The spotlight on U.S.
diplomatic installations was already intense after violence last
September in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, where Ambassador Christopher
Stevens was one of four Americans killed in Benghazi.
U.S. Rep. Ed Royce said
Friday's explosion in Turkey served as "yet another stark reminder of
the constant terrorist threat against U.S. facilities, personnel and
interests aboard."
"Coming after Benghazi,
it underscores the need for a comprehensive review of security at our
diplomatic posts," said Royce, a California Republican and chairman of
House Foreign Affairs Committee.
'He exploded at the guard'
The bomber had first
gone to the rear access of the embassy, then went to a checkpoint on the
building's perimeter where IDs are checked, explained U.S. State
Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. According to law enforcement
sources working on the investigation, Sanli blew himself up on a walkway
for embassy employees and their guests.
"He exploded at the guard," Nuland explained.
The guard, Akarsu, on
one side of the security barrier was killed. Two guards on the other
side of the glass survived, said the State Department spokeswoman.
The blast blew a hole in
what appeared to be a building that is part of the compound's outer
gate, images from CNN sister network CNN Turk showed. This was all part
of a large complex that includes blast doors, reinforced windows and a
series of metal detectors that visitors must navigate before reaching
embassy offices.
The attack stirred swift
condemnations, as well as fresh security precautions. The U.S. Embassy
in Ankara subsequently put out a statement telling Americans not to
visit that facility or U.S. consulates in Istanbul or Adana "until
further notice."
Portions of Paris
Avenue, where the targeted embassy is located, were shut down, according
to Anadolu news. Germany and France, meanwhile, were among the
countries who tightened their security in the wake of the blast.
The U.S. ambassador said
in a statement that he'd "paid my respects to the family of the Turkish
hero who stood guard for us every day."
Calling him "well
trained (and) committed to his job," Ricciardone praised the late guard
as a "good, excellent, professional guard" who "died defending the Turks
and the Americans who work at the embassy."
The ambassador also
talked about visiting Tuncay, whom he recalled was "the first person to
interview me when I arrived two years ago at NTV." Having learned she'd
recently left the Turkish network, Ricciardone said he invited her to
tea.
"She serves her country by getting the truth to the Turkish people," the ambassador said. "She, I think, is one of the best."
Not first brush with terror for Turkey, U.S.
Friday's blast was hardly Turkey's first brush with terror.
At the nexus of Europe
and Asia, and with deep roots in the Muslim and Christian spheres,
Turkey has long been a boiling pot -- and, occasionally, a target.
In recent years, it has
been site of many acts of political violence from groups such as leftist
anarchists, Kurdish separatists, Islamists and al Qaeda.
Hasan Selim Ozertem, a
security expert at the International Strategic Research Organization in
Ankara, said Friday's attack could be related to recent arrests of
DHKP-C members.
Since the beginning of
January, 85 members of the group have been taken into custody, he said,
adding that Turkish police have been closely focusing on the group over
the past five years. The DHKP-C was established in the 1970s.
Ozertem said that one
plausible theory is the group is trying to send a message to Turkish
authorities by attacking the U.S. Embassy because it is near the Turkish
parliament building.
DHKP-C has a track
record as a "subcontractor" group for other militant outfits, and it is
also believed to have relationships with states in the region such as
Syria and Iran, Ozertem said.
The group has a
relationship with the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party, which has been
at odds with Turkey's government for some time. Ozertem said the attack
could be linked to negotiations between the PKK and Turkish government.
Another possibility is
that Syria or Iran could be involved, considering the recent deployment
of Patriot missiles in Turkey as a defense against possible missiles
from Syria.
The explosion occurred
as about 400 U.S. military personnel are moving Patriot missile defense
equipment to a Turkish base as part of an effort to defend the country
from possible attack from Syria. The first battery became operational
last Saturday in the city of Adana, NATO said, and more equipment
arrived Wednesday in the port city of Iskenderun.
Erdogan, however, ruled
out that Friday's attack had anything to do with Syria, according to an
interview on the private Habertuk channel later reported by Andolu.
Of course, this may have
to do primarily with the United States itself -- independent of
anything involving Turkey or its government.
While the U.S. Embassy
in Ankara has not seen this kind of incident in decades, in 2008 three
police officers died in a shootout with assailants outside the U.S.
Consulate in Istanbul.
Three attackers died in
the incident, which the U.S. ambassador at the time called "an obvious
act of terrorism." One of the attackers in that incident was believed to
have trained with al Qaeda in Pakistan's Waziristan region.
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