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

CHP deputy asks PM to stop arrest of women after giving birth

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu has asked Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım to halt the practice of arresting women immediately after giving birth due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement.

2,500 schools confiscated, 30,000 teachers dismissed over Gülen links

Turkish Education Ministry Undersecretary Yusuf Tekin on Sunday said they have completed a purge of Gülen movement members and institutions in his ministry, the DHA news agency reported.

Prof. Tures: Erdogan’s policies threaten Turkey

Followers of this liberal U.S.-based cleric, Gulen, were scapegoated for the July 2016 coup. Tens of thousands of police officers and security officials were fired and even arrested, simply for being followers of Gulen, an opponent of ISIS. The Turkish President seems willing to blame everyone but ISIS, or even offer much of an anti-ISIS campaign.

Iran’s Turkish gold rush

While the gas-for-gold scheme may have been technically legal before Congress finally shut it down in July, it appears to have exposed the Turkish political elite to a vast Iranian underworld. According to Today’s Zaman, suspicious transactions between Iran and Turkey could exceed $119 billion — nine times the total of gas-for-gold transactions reported.

Erdoğan steps up hateful speech against Gülen

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stepped up his attacks on Monday against members of a leading civil society group who are critical of his divisive discourse and discriminatory policies, calling the group modern “Lawrences of Arabia.”

Why on earth does a Hizmet follower flee Turkey?

What follows is a translation of a recently-received one in which a family, sympathizer of the Gulen Movement, a.k.a. Hizmet, talk over their experience in leaving the country. Most of the credit go to the Samanyolu Haber for publishing the story that sheds light on personal stories in what many call Turkish brain drain, on September 6.

Latest News

Sacramento leaders gather for Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan

SEO Skill Suite: Tools for Keyword Research, Technical & Backlink Analysis

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

In Case You Missed It

Tajik president urges Turkish firms to make mining investments

What a shame, what a pity

An Interfaith Trip to Turkey: A Lesson in History

Erdogan’s long arm abroad: no way to get passports, facing deportation to Turkey, no help!

Kimse Yok Mu sends aid materials with 24 trucks for Syrian refugees

The Encyclopedia of Islam and hate speech

Islamists lost test with power, Arab and Turkish intellectuals agree

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News