Turkey Kidnapping Plot Adds to Concerns About US Troops There

ISIS Hired Gang to Try to Kidnap Top Commander

The US troops stationed in Turkey seem to be at growing risk, not just from the possibility of the Syrian Civil War spreading across the border, but of ISIS bringing the fight directly to them.

An attempted kidnapping of a Turkish commander earlier this week underscores ISIS ability to extend its influence across the border, with a promise of $500,000 convincing a Turkish gang to try to capture the commander, who was shot but escaped.

ISIS is flush with cash, and groups like this are apparently available for rent, which means that the capture of a US soldier may just be a phone call away for ISIS.

Officials are refusing to say if they’re taking additional precautions, but it seems likely that US troops, when they are off base, could become an easy, and potentially very politically valuable, target for ISIS, and such an attempt is likely only a matter of time.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.