ON MARCH 18th the European Union, seeking to stem the influx of refugees from the Middle East, struck a deal to return asylum-seekers who cross the Aegean illegally to Turkey, in exchange for promises of aid and other concessions. The following day, a suicide bomber killed at least five people, including himself and four foreigners, on Istanbul’s most popular pedestrian shopping street (pictured). Turkey has endured five big terror attacks since October, at a cost of nearly 200 lives; its war against Kurdish militants has left hundreds more dead. But after a disastrous year, the deal with the EU may offer at least a tentative promise of something better.
No group has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the latest bombing. The day after the attack, officials identified a Turkish member of Islamic State (IS) as the perpetrator. IS has been quick to take credit for atrocities elsewhere, from Jakarta to San Bernardino. But it has yet to do so for any attack by its sympathisers in Turkey, including a double bombing that killed 102 people in October.
Distressingly, the list of other possible suspects has grown longer over…
