An undated photo shows the Turkish Consulate in Mosul before its capture by the Islamic State. (photo by Twitter/jmsardo)

When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the enigmatic leader of the al-Qaeda-inspired
Islamic State (IS, formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or
ISIS), appeared on a video
posted online in early July addressing a congregation of faithful at a
mosque in Mosul, pundits oozed commentary about his words and his
attire. Was the self-declared caliph’s watch a Rolex? If so, how did
this sit with the teachings of Islam? they mused.

But a no less significant detail escaped unnoticed. After his fiery
speech, Baghdadi was whisked away to the Islamic State’s new
headquarters — the Turkish Consulate in Mosul. “It is absolutely true
that IS has been using the Turkish Consulate as its main headquarters
and that Baghdadi spent several hours there,” confirmed Atheel
al-Nujaifi, the governor of Mosul, in a telephone interview with
Al-Monitor. “It is their office.”
Not that the Turkish public would ever know. Soon after IS stormed the Turkish Consulate
on June 10, taking all 49 there hostage — including Consul
General Ozturk Yilmaz — Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP)
government passed a law that effectively bans all public debate and
reporting of the crisis. The rationale for this crude display of
censorship, which has become a trademark of AKP rule, is that discussing
the fate of the hostages might put their lives at risk. While there is
some merit to this argument, it is also true that the Mosul affair is a
huge embarrassment for the AKP government, not least because of glaring
lapses in security. Nujaifi had, along with Turkey’s national spy agency
MIT, advised that the consulate be evacuated days before the IS raid
only to be vetoed by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, according
to media reports. In a characteristic fit of hubris, Davutoglu is alleged to have argued that “the Turkish flag must continue to fly.”
Not only did IS attack the Turkish Consulate — it is occupying it.
Yet, fearful of provoking the jihadists, Turkey’s often bombastic prime
minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has not uttered a peep. To the contrary,
Erdogan has lashed out at those he claims want him to “provoke” IS. And he has warned the United States against any airstrikes against IS in Iraq.

Syrian and Turkish Kurds, meanwhile, continue to accuse Erdogan of
letting IS use Turkey as a logistical base to pursue its campaign
against the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People’s
Protection Units (YPG). Clashes between the jihadists and the Kurds have
escalated around the town of Kobani, which lies opposite the Turkish township of Suruc. IS views Kobani as a strategic prize.
At least 800 Turkish Kurds are believed to have crossed the border in
recent days to take up arms alongside the YPG. About a thousand more
Kurds are expected to join them on July 19, which marks the second
anniversary of the “liberation” of Kobani from Syrian regime
forces. “Kobani has become the new rallying point for the Kurds,” Ahmet
Sumbul, a veteran Kurdish journalist based in Diyarbakir, told
Al-Monitor. “And most believe that Turkey is helping [IS],” he added.
All of this imperils the peace negotiations between Turkey and the
outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Turkish rebel group that is closely linked to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the YPG.
Nujaifi declined to comment on possible collusion between Turkey and
IS in Syria. “I am unaware of what is happening in Syria,” he said.