Türkiye’s air force struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday in an apparent retaliation for an attack at a key state-run defence company in the Turkish capital that killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others.
The Turkish defence ministry said more than 30 targets were “destroyed” in the aerial offensive, without providing details on the locations that were hit. It said “all kinds of precautions” were taken to prevent harms to civilians.
The strike came hours after suspected Kurdish militants set off explosives and opened fire at the aerospace and defence company TUSAS in Ankara.
CCTV footage showed a gunman aiming a firearm inside the TUSAS aviation company’s headquarters. (Reuters)
The two attackers — a man and a woman — also were killed, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
Mr Yerlikaya said the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party , or PKK, was believed to be behind the attack at TUSAS.
“We give these PKK scoundrels the punishment they deserve every time. But they never come to their senses,” Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said.
“We will pursue them until the last terrorist is eliminated.”
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There was no immediate statement in response from the PKK.
The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Türkiye and its Western allies — including Australia.
Earlier, Turkish TV broadcasters showed CCTV footage of armed assailants entering the TUSAS building, including footage of gunfire in a parking lot and the two attackers carrying assault rifles and backpacks.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party , or PKK, was believed to be behind the attack at TUSAS. (Reuters: Supplied)
Private NTV television initially reported a group of attackers arrived at an entry of the company headquarters inside a taxi during a changing of the security personnel, while local media reported a loud explosion at the site and showed footage of an exchange of gunfire.
At least one of the attackers detonated a bomb, NTV said, while other attackers managed to enter the complex.
TUSAS designs, manufactures and assembles civilian and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other defence industry and space systems. Its UAVs have been instrumental in Türkiye gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants.
The attack occurred a day after the leader of Türkiye’s far-right nationalist party that’s allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the possibility that the PKK’s imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands his organisation.
Ocalan’s group has been fighting for autonomy in south-east Türkiye in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people since the 1980s.
President Tayyip Erdogan, alongside Russia’s Vladimir Putin at a BRICS conference in the Russian city of Kazan, condemned the attack.
Security personnel at the entrance of the TUSAS aviation company headquarters. (Reuters/Stringer)
Victims’ accounts begin to emerge
One of the victims of the attack was identified as mechanical engineer Zahide Guclu, who had gone to the entrance to collect flowers sent by her husband, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.
A woman reacts at the site of the attack in Ankara. (Reuters: Stringer)
The taxi driver was also killed by the assailants and his body was found in the trunk of the vehicle, the agency reported.
Orhan Akdundar, a brother of one of the TUSAS employees, was among relatives waiting outside the complex for news of their loved ones.
“I called my brother who was inside and said, ‘what happened?’ He said a bomb had exploded and said that gunshots continued for a very long time,” Mr Akdundar said.
“There was a huge commotion. The gendarmerie, special forces and other security forces were all here. There were lots of ambulances. Then the phones shut off and I wasn’t able to establish communication.”
An unidentified TUSAS employee shouted: “We will work harder and produce more in defiance of the traitors”, as he and other colleagues were being evacuated from the premises, according to a video aired by HaberTurk.
‘Deeply concerning reports’
NATO head Mark Rutte said the military alliance would stand with its ally Türkiye amid news of the attack.
“Deeply concerning reports of dead and wounded in Ankara. #NATO stands with our Ally #Turkey. We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and are monitoring developments closely,” Mr Rutte said in a post on X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was meeting with Mr Erdogan at the BRICS summit, offered him condolences over the attack.
The European Union delegation in Türkiye also condemned the attack.
Reuters/AP
