A rare attack in Istanbul will fuel domestic anti-Kurdish rhetoric prior to the 2023 elections but is unlikely to significantly impact Turkey's foreign policy. On Nov. 13, an improvised explosive device detonated near a chocolate shop on Istiklal Street, one of Istanbul's busiest shopping thoroughfares, killing six and wounding over 80. So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Turkish officials have blamed the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a designated terrorist organization in Turkey. Security forces have arrested 46 individuals. Among those arrested is the alleged perpetrator, a female Syrian national named Ahlam Albashir who confessed to planting the bomb. The attack happened less than a year before Turkey's presidential and parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for June 2023. Polls suggest that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be re-elected, though Turkey's ongoing economic turbulence has been steadily eroding the popularity of his ruling...
