US embassy cable - 04ADANA53

UNCLAS ADANA 000053 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
ANKARA PASS TO IZMIR 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC, PTER, PINR, TU, ADANA 
SUBJECT: FIRE BOMB IN ADANA ATM, REMOTE MINES IN SE TURKEY 
 
 
ADANA ATM BOMBING 
 
 
1.  (SBU)   According to the TNP, there was an explosion at the 
ATM machine for the Pamuk Bank located in north Adana in the 
vicinity of Turgut Ozal Boulevard, 100 meters from post's three 
officer residences, on April 21.  An unidentified person used a 
plastic water bottle to contain an explosive material, probably 
fuel, to create an improvised explosive device (IED).  A lit 
cigarette was left in the IED to ignite the flammable material 
and it was then left in the ATM booth.  A journalist went into 
the ATM booth to use it, noticed the device and ran out.  It 
exploded shortly thereafter, destroying the ATM booth.  There 
were no reported injuries. No one has claimed responsibility for 
the bombing. Police hypothesize, based on proximity to a May 1 
date linked to an indigenous Turkish Marxist-Leninist terrorist 
group, that this group could be responsible. 
 
 
 
 
SE TURKEY REMOTELY DETONATED EXPLOSIVES 
 
 
2.  (SBU)  AMEMBASSY ANKARA/AMCON ADANA reporting officers heard 
reports during the week of April 19 of command-detonated mine or 
IED (reports varied) attacks in southeast Turkey in late 
March/early April similar to those in the March 8 Gercus, Mardin 
province attack..  We heard from a credible Mardin province 
contact of a remotely detonated IED/mine attack on Jandarma 
vehicle patrols near Seyhahmet kalesi in south Mardin about 3 
weeks ago. Similarly, a different credible contact reported 
hearing of a similar attack in Siirt province, near Eruh 
township, in the last 2-3 weeks. When traveling last week in 
south Batman province, near Gercus, officers observed  Jandarma 
patrolling using heavy 6-wheeled APC's with all personnel but 
the driver sitting on top of the APC in improvised sandbagged 
positions with machine guns ready. This deployment suggested 
that the Jandarma continue to take such a mine-like attack 
threat seriously. 
 
 
3. (SBU) There have been uncorroborated reports of several 
similar, yet apparently smaller yielding, IED or mine attacks in 
rural areas of eastern Hatay province, but AMCONSUL ADANA cannot 
corroborate these reports at this time. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REID