Turkey hits Kurdish sites after attack kills five near Ankara

The Turkish government said its army struck sites in Iraq and Syria linked to the Kurdish militant group PKK on Wednesday evening, after blaming it for an attack near Ankara that killed at least five people.

Various videos from Wednesday's attack show at least two people firing guns around the entrance to Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), located about 40 km from the capital.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, in which 22 people were injured.

“A total of 32 targets belonging to the terrorists were successfully destroyed” during this retaliatory attack, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the attack on TAI “heinous” in a post on X.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said two attackers, a woman and a man, had been “neutralized”, adding that the attack most likely involved the PKK.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is banned as a terrorist organization in Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom and has fought against the Turkish state since the 1980s for greater rights for the large minority Kurdish of the country.

The Reuters news agency reports, citing Turkish intelligence officials, that the targets of the airstrikes included military installations, munitions depots and energy infrastructure.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Thursday morning that Turkey had since launched a “new wave” of attacks, including against “gatherings of civilians,” killing 12 people.

Turkey's Defense Ministry said earlier that “all kinds of precautions were taken to avoid harm to innocent civilians, friendly elements, historical and cultural properties and the environment.”

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said four of the victims of the attack near Ankara were TAI employees, while the fifth was a taxi driver.

The victims were named by Turkey's official news agency as Cengiz Coskun, a quality control officer, Zahide Guclu, a mechanical engineer, security guard Atakan Sahin Erdogan, another employee called Huseyin Canbaz and Murat Arslan , the taxi driver.

Local media earlier reported that the attackers killed the taxi driver before taking his vehicle to carry out the attack.

The explosion took place during a shift change and staff had to be directed to shelters, they said.

Yerlikaya also confirmed that seven special forces members were among the 22 injured in the attack.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the Ankara attack.

In an article on X, he wrote: “We stand with Turkey as a close NATO ally and friend. »

President Erdogan – who is in Russia for the BRICS summit – condemned what he called a “despicable terrorist attack” during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in remarks broadcast live on television .

He later issued a lengthy statement on X, saying security forces had acted quickly to neutralize the threat and that “no terrorist organization, no evil objective targeting our security will be able to achieve its goals.”

Turkish authorities imposed a media silence on details of the attack, and users in large parts of the country reported being unable to use social media sites like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X.

Chairman of the Supreme Council of Turkish Radio and Television Ebubekir Sahin warned that all images related to the incident should be removed from social media and urged users not to share images that would be used for purposes of terrorist purposes.

TAI is a key player in the Turkish aerospace industry, designing, developing and manufacturing various aircraft for commercial and military use.

This is the company designated by the NATO member to be the licensed manufacturer of the American-designed F-16 fighter jets. TAI also plays a role in modernizing older aircraft for the Turkish military.

The company's two main owners are the Turkish armed forces and a civilian branch of the Turkish government tasked with improving its defense capabilities and managing military procurement.

The explosion took place as a major defense and aerospace industry exhibition was being held this week in Istanbul.