Turkey’s military says it bombed PKK-linked targets in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday night, following an attack near Ankara that killed at least five people.
Various recordings from the attack earlier on Wednesday show at least two people firing firearms near the entrance to Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), which is some 40 kilometres (25 miles) outside the capital.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident, which left 22 people injured.
“A total of 32 targets belonging to the terrorists were successfully destroyed” in the retaliatory attack, the Turkish defence ministry said in a statement.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the attack on TAI as “heinous” in a statement on X.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya disclosed that two attackers, a woman and a man, had been “neutralized,” adding that the attack had most likely involved the PKK.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is outlawed as a terrorist organisation in Turkey, the US, and the UK and has been fighting against the Turkish state since the 1980s for greater rights for the country’s significant Kurdish minority.
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz stated that four of the dead were TAI employees and the fifth was a taxi driver.
Local media had previously stated that the perpetrators killed the cab driver before stealing his vehicle to carry out the assault.
The bomb occurred during a shift change, and employees were routed to shelters, according to reports. Yerlikaya also stated that seven special operations forces members were among the 22 people injured in the incident.
Erdogan, who is in Russia for the Brics summit, condemned the “vile terror attack” at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was carried live on television.
He later wrote a lengthy statement on X, stating that security forces responded rapidly to remove the threat and that “no terrorist organisation, no evil focus on our security will be able to achieve their goals.”
Turkish authorities have enforced a media blackout on details of the incident, and users in several parts of the nation have reported being unable to access social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
Ebubekir Sahin, president of Turkey’s Radio and TV Supreme Council, warned that all photographs related to the incident should be removed from social media and asked users not to upload images that “will serve the purpose of terrorism.”.
TAI is a major actor in Turkey’s aerospace industry, designing, producing, and manufacturing a variety of aircraft for commercial and military use.
It is the business designated by the NATO member as the licensed manufacturer of US-designed F-16 combat planes. TAI also helps modernise older aircraft for usage by the Turkish military.
The Turkish Armed Forces and a civilian branch of Turkey’s government tasked with enhancing defence capabilities and overseeing military procurement are the firm’s two major shareholders.
The explosion occurred at a major trade expo for the defence and aerospace industry that was taking place in Istanbul this week.
TAI is a major actor in Turkey’s aerospace industry, designing, producing, and manufacturing a variety of aircraft for commercial and military use. It is the business designated by the NATO member as the licensed manufacturer of US-designed F-16 combat planes.
TAI also helps modernise older aircraft for usage by the Turkish military.
The Turkish Armed Forces and a civilian branch of Turkey’s government tasked with enhancing defence capabilities and overseeing military procurement are the firm’s two major shareholders.
The explosion occurred at a major trade expo for the defence and aerospace industry that was taking place in Istanbul this week.
