Dev Sol
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Revolutionary Left (Dev Sol)
A left-wing Marxist group that has its origins in the Turkish Peoples Liberation Army split off in the late 1970s to form Dev Sol. It’s a vehemently anti-NATO group as well as anti-United States. The aims of this group are to foster an uprising or popular national revolution amongst the Turkish working classes. The group is financed primarily from criminal activities carried out in Turkey from armed robberies and extortion from businesses.
Activities Since the late 1980s, the group has targeted primarily current and retired Turkish security and military officials. It began a new campaign against foreign interests in 1990, which included attacks against US military and diplomatic personnel and facilities. To protest perceived US imperialism during the Gulf war, the DHKP/C assassinated two US military contractors; wounded an Air Force officer; and bombed more than 20 US and NATO military, commercial, and cultural facilities. In its first significant terrorist act as DHKP/C in 1996, it assassinated a prominent Turkish businessman and two others. DHKP/C added suicide bombings to its repertoire in 2001, with successful attacks against Turkish police in January and September. Security operations in Turkey and elsewhere have weakened the group, however. DHKP/C did not conduct any major terrorist attacks in 2003, although a DHKP/C operative prematurely detonated her explosive belt in May.