On Dec. 23, three Kurdish activists were murdered in the heart of Paris by a 69 year old Frenchman with a history of violence against foreigners. But many Kurds believe the suspect was put up to the job by Turkey's national intelligence agency the MIT. French authorities have launched an investigation but are treating the affair as a racist crime. The MIT has become increasingly powerful in recent years, commanding its own fleet of drones and targeting Kurdish militants and other "enemies of the state" on foreign soil. French investigative journalist Guillaume Perrier says the MIT and its boss Hakan Fidan are central to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's grip on power. 

Read more:

• Turkey urges France to ban PKK 'propaganda' after Paris shooting (Al-Monitor)

• Rue d’Enghien, les Kurdes frappés au cœur (Le Point)