Turkish intelligence staged a rocket attack on Erdoğan’s palace to rally public support

Turkish soldier is firing a rocket in a military exercise. (Archive Photo)
Turkish soldier is firing a rocket in a military exercise. (Archive Photo)


Date posted: January 24, 2020

Abdullah Bozkurt

Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) appears to have staged a rocket attack on the palace of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan three days after a failed coup in order to bolster the perception that the threat of a putschist attempt was still alive and to rally public support for the government.

The incident took place on July 18, 2016 at 11:45 a.m. according to the police, when a military rocket was reported to have been fired at the fence next to Gate No. 3 of the presidential palace. The force of the blast bent the wrought iron bars of the fence, the report stated. The bomb squad was dispatched to the scene to examine the damage and collect fragments of the rocket from the palace garden. No casualties were reported.

A forensic examination of the rocket debris including “an electronic circuit board and motor parts” cited in a bomb squad report indicated that they were from a “US-made surface to air [XM41] series shoulder-fired … rocket.” The report was compiled on October 10, 2016 but submitted to the Ankara 4th High Criminal Court by Police Chief Ibrahim Özturk almost two years later, on May 2, 2018.

It turned out that the rockets were phased out by the Turkish military and the redundant munitions were turned over to MIT some 15 years ago according to Necip Erkul, a lieutenant who worked as an expert in military criminal laboratories before he was falsely charged with involvement in the failed coup.

The report reinforced the widely held belief that the limited mobilization on July 15, 2016 was nothing but a false flag operation plotted by MIT at the direction of Erdoğan, who wanted to consolidate his power under a newly instituted executive presidency and persecute his opponents. Erdoğan played the victim card in the aftermath of the abortive putsch, and his intelligence service appears to have orchestrated the rocket attack in broad daylight on the most secure location in Ankara, which was monitored by security cameras and police and intelligence officers round the clock.

Click below link to read more.

Source: Nordic Monitor , January 23, 2020


Related News

78 detained for raising money for post-coup purge victims

At least 78 people who are accused of raising money for post-coup purge victims were detained in an Antalya-based operation into the Gülen movement on Thursday.

Fethullah Gülen’s message to his sympathizers in the aftermath of the coup attempt

I hope that those who set their hearts on a cause will not loosen their hands about working on the world solidarity and universal human values, and they will continue on their way. I hope they do not get shaken by such storms, with Allah’s permission and help. Just like all the things happened until today had passed and became history, these latest incidents will pass and become history, with Allah’s permission.

War on Gulen Movement undermines Turkish diplomacy

Bent on dismantling the “parallel state,” Ankara has embarked on a reckless campaign that threatens to undermine Turkey’s foreign relations. After corruption probes targeted Cabinet members in December 2013, it came as no surprise when the AKP government dismissed and reassigned thousands of police officers, prosecutors and judges in the course of a fierce war on the movement of cleric Fethullah Gulen.

PM Erdoğan calls on his supporters to boycott [Hizmet’s] prep schools

Calling on his supporters to boycott prep schools, Erdoğan took another swipe at the Hizmet movement, which, according to him, pulled the trigger of the recent corruption operation.However, lawyer of Fethullah Gülen denied any involvement in the recent graft probe, strongly rejected any link to the case.

PM Erdoğan’s arguments on prep schools contradict statistics, facts

PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during a live TV interview on Wednesday night that his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) will not back down from its decision to close prep schools and listed his government’s arguments, many of which contradict official data, statistics and results of surveys carried out on the issue. According to surveys, 85 percent of the families who send their children to prep schools are low-income families.

US Unlikely to ‘Speed Up’ Gulen’s Extradition to Turkey

Turkey has formally requested that the U.S. government extradite Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen from the state of Pennsylvania where he has lived in self-imposed exile for 17 years. Turkey is pushing for quick extradition, suggesting that U.S.-Turkish relations are at stake. But the burden of proof rests squarely on Ankara, and if it cannot sufficiently prove its accusations against Gulen, the extradition request will be refused.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Turkish Cultural Center aims to bridge East and West

White House praises Rumi Forum

Gülen says abusive language to cover up sins is hypocrisy

Out of the rubble, a chance to mend relations

Reconsidering Gender Equality and Peaceful Societies

‘Hizmet conspiracy’ theories rejected at iftar hosted by Alevis

The gravest-ever smear

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News