The Dokumacılar (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Weavers'') was a Turkish organisation linked to the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

(ISIL) that specifically targeted the Kurdish

People's Protection Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democra ...

(YPG) that were fighting against ISIL in the Syrian Civil War. The organisation, thought to have been formed of around 60 Turkish militants who joined ISIL, was linked to both the

2015 Diyarbakır rally bombings The 2015 Diyarbakır rally bombings occurred on 5 June 2015 in Diyarbakır, Turkey, during an electoral rally of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) at 17:55 local time. The bombing took place two days before the June 2015 general election and ...

that killed 4 people and the

2015 Suruç bombing Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

that killed 32 people. The Dokumacılar numbered in the 60-70s, most of which were Turkish citizens from

Adıyaman Province Adıyaman Province ( tr, , ku, ) is a province in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. The capital is Adıyaman. The province is considered part of Turkish Kurdistan and has a Kurdish majority. Adıyaman Province was part of the provi ...

who joined ISIL. The group allegedly participated in the unsuccessful fight against the YPG forces during the offensive against the town of

Tell Abyad Tell Abyad; ku, گرێ سپی, Girê Spî; hy, Թել Աբյադ; syr, ܬܠ ܐܒܝܕ. is a town in northern Syria. It is the administrative center of the Tell Abyad District within the Raqqa Governorate. Located along the Balikh River, it const ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Formation

The Dokumacılar are allegedly formed by around 60 or 70 Turkish citizens from

, who crossed the Turkish-Syrian border to receive training in ISIL camps. The group also allegedly had links with Turkish customs officials at border gates on the border.

Alleged attacks

Offensive on Tell Abyad

Reports claim that the Dokumacılar were part of the ISIL offensive against the Syrian city of

in 2015, where the group allegedly suffered heavy casualties. The group's military commander was reported to have been killed by Kurdish

(YPG) fighters during the offensive, with the final YPG victory against ISIL's military forces causing the Dokumacılar to retreat and cross the border back into Turkey.

HDP Diyarbakır rally bombings

During an electoral rally held in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) just 48 hours before the Turkish general election of June 2015, two bombs exploded just before the party chairman

Selahattin Demirtaş Selahattin Demirtaş (born 10 April 1973) is a politician, author, and former member of the parliament of Turkey. He was the co-leader of the left-wing pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), serving alongside Figen Yüksekdağ from 2014 to ...

was about to make a speech. The attack killed 4 people and injured over 100 more, with the HDP accusing ISIL for the bombing. Later reports and allegations in July 2015 pointed towards the involvement of the Dokumacılar, whom with which the bombings' prime suspect Orhan Gönder was allegedly a member of.

2015 Suruç bombing

On 20 July 2015, a suicide bombing in the Turkish district of

Suruç Suruç (, ku, Pirsûs, script=Latn, ''Sruḡ'') is a rural district and city of Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey, on a plain near the Syria–Turkey border, Syrian border southwest of the city of Urfa. History In antiquity the Sumerians built a se ...

Şanlıurfa Province Şanlıurfa Province ( tr, Şanlıurfa ili; ku, Parêzgeha Rihayê) or simply Urfa Province is a province in southeastern Turkey. The city of Şanlıurfa is the capital of the province which bears its name. The population is 1,845,667 (2014). The ...

resulted in the death of 32 young activists who were planning to cross the border to help the relief efforts in the Syrian town of

Kobanî Kobanî (, , also rendered , ar, كُوبَانِي, Kūbānī) (Kurdish: Kobanî/ کۆبانی) officially Ayn al-Arab ( ar, عَيْن الْعَرَب, ʿAyn al-ʿArab ), is a Kurdish-majority city in northern Syria, lying immediately ...

. Kobanî had, until recently, been

under siege ''Under Siege'' is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis, written by J. F. Lawton, and starring Steven Seagal as a former Navy SEAL who must stop a group of mercenaries, led by Tommy Lee Jones, after they commandeer the ...

by ISIL forces, though the YPG had gained control over most of the city by mid 2015. The youth activists were listening to a press statement when the explosion occurred, with the perpetrator being identified as Şeyh Abdurrahman Alagöz, who had entered Syria at the same time as Orhan Gönder to receive training in ISIL-led camps. The two were thus alleged to have been part of the Dokumacılar organisation.

References