President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presided over a high-level security meeting in Istanbul on Thursday after a terrorist attack on a key Turkish defense and aerospace company that killed five people.
The talks at the Atatürk Airport came as Erdoğan returned from Russia’s Kazan, where he attended a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies.
Officials addressed the deadly attack on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and the country’s fight against terrorism, a statement by the Communications Directorate said.
They reiterated Türkiye’s commitment to combating terrorism and emphasized that the country will not allow the establishment of a “terror state” across its borders.
Two assailants – a man and a woman – carried out Wednesday’s assault on TAI with automatic rifles and explosives. Twenty-two people were wounded.
Officials on Thursday said the two assailants, who were neutralized by the security forces, were identified to be members of the PKK terror group.
Türkiye has since struck 47 PKK targets in northern Iraq and northern Syria, according to the Defense Ministry. Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said numerous “terrorists have been neutralized” in these operations.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, authorities renewed their pledge to continue the counterterrorism fight.
Erdoğan said the heinous attack only bolstered Türkiye’s resolve to eliminate terrorism as he thanked the country’s friends who exhibited solidarity. He said they would continue fighting terrorism in all its forms and with a multi-dimensional approach.
Attendees at the security meeting included Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Güler, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, Chief of General Staff Gen. Metin Gürak, National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director Ibrahim Kalın, and Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun.
The head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), Haluk Görgün, along with senior advisors and representatives from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), were also present.
TAI is Türkiye’s largest aerospace manufacturer, producing drones, helicopters, training craft and developing the country’s first indigenous fighter jet, Kaan.
The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 to achieve a so-called Kurdish self-rule in southeastern regions and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, as well as the United States and the European Union.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, infants and the elderly.
