The 2003 Istanbul bombings provide the strongest implication of ties between IBDA-C and Al-Qaeda, although the exact nature of their cooperation remains unclear. Al-Qaeda may have acted merely as an outside support base, or possibly in tandem with IBDA-C in terms of planning and execution. Some, on the other hand, assert that IBDA-C had no involvement at all; contradicting reports from the Turkish media solely credit al-Qaeda with the attacks, implying that IBDA-C did not have the means to carry out such a sophisticated act of terrorism. Indeed, IBDA-C showed no willingness to exercise suicide terrorism prior to November 2003. Regardless of whether or not IBDA-C actively participated in these particular attacks, the attention received provided the group with a heightened level of international infamy, as they were previously not well known at the global level.