BY SAMI KOHEN
MILLIYET- One of the terrible pictures about the killings of hostages belonged to a Turkish citizen… Murat Yuce was the first Turk killed by the ‘Tawhid and al-Jihad group’ of al-Zarqawi, linked to the al-Quaeda. According to the group, Yuce was guilty of working for a Turkish firm, which works with an American base in Iraq… Of course it is evident in which conditions the execution is carried on. The group in question (and other militant groups) uses the method of shooting the hostages in the head or beheading them to prove their power and to threaten foreign firms. As a matter of fact, the number of hostages kidnapped is 70. A part of them are Muslims.
Operations of militants of al-Zarqawi are only one element of the chaos in Iraq. The new Iraqi government is unable to solve the security problem. With handful militants the Tawhid and al-Jihad group can plan and carry on its strategy. It forces foreign firms or countries to accept its own provisions (Philippines decided to withdraw its troops from Iraq and the firm, which Yuce was working for ceased from working in Iraq). We have to admit that the militants are successful in this respect. Even if the world doesn’t approve it and is anxious about the terrible pictures, the groups are hoping to gain the support of their people. It is obvious that this gives harm to the country.
There are also other groups in Iraq, with different goals. Various segments of Iraq are also targeted by these groups. Hundreds of Iraqis are victims of these attacks. The bombing of a church should also be evaluated from this aspect. Now the Christian population is also influenced by the conflicts between Sunnites, Shiites and Kurds. Unfortunately, the society in Iraq is drifting towards conflict and extremism. It will be impossible to reach stability in the region for a long time if this continues.