On Oct. 17, a motorcycle parked on the side of the road exploded just as a shuttle bus for police officers was passing by the city of Mersin on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. The remotely activated bomb injured 18 people. The Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council promptly instituted a gag order on all media coverage of the attack. On Oct. 19, Minister of Development Lutfi Elvan said 11 suspects were taken into custody. Elvan added that early signs indicated the attack was the work of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and the United States.
The Mersin explosion became a trending topic on social media the day of the attack. One hashtag was particularly telling: #TerrorunAdiABD — "The name of terror is USA."
The hashtag came with potent yet simple images associating the United States with the Islamic State (IS). For example, one tweet said, “The goal is to destroy Islam” and below was an image of a chess board populated with soldiers of IS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and the Free Syrian Army being maneuvered by a hand labeled with the US flag.
This was followed by the ultranationalist Aydinlik daily advising readers to consider the Mersin attack and its timing while remembering one of US Ambassador to Turkey John Bass’ departing statements.
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