Türkiye’s air forces have launched airstrikes in northern Iraq and northern Syria after after five people were killed and 22 wounded in what the Turkish government has called a terrorist attack at the headquarters of a defence firm in the capital Ankara.
Witnesses said they heard gunfire and an explosion in the attack on Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) overnight.
Turkish interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said both attackers were killed after the attack, adding two of the injured are in critical condition.
TV broadcasters showed footage of armed assailants entering the TUSAS building near the capital city.
Türkiye’s interior minister said five people have been killed and 22 others wounded in the attack. Source: AP / Mert Gokhan Koc
“Two terrorists were neutralised in the terror attack on the TUSAS Ankara Kahramankazan site,” Yerlikaya said.
“Sadly, we have five martyrs and 22 wounded in the attack.
“Three of the injured were already discharged from hospital, 19 of them under treatment,” he said.
Who was behind the TUSAS attack?
Yerlikaya said the perpetrators were “highly likely” members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“The style of the act shows that it is highly likely the PKK that carried out the attack. Once identification is completed and other evidence becomes clearer, we will share more concrete information with you,” he said.
Turkish air forces conducted airstrikes in northern Iraq and northern Syria and destroyed 32 PKK targets, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, adding that many PKK members were killed.
Prosecutors have launched an investigation, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
The attack follows a suicide bombing at the , which also led to Türkiye carried out dozens of airstrikes on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.
CCTV footage showed two people with guns and backpacks during the attack on the Turkish state-run aerospace and defence company on the outskirts of Ankara. Credit: AP
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, alongside Russia’s Vladimir Putin at a BRICS conference in the Russian city of Kazan, condemned the attack and accepted Putin’s condolences.
NATO, the United States and the European Union also condemned the attack.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has condemned the attack and said the military alliance would stand with its ally Turkey.
Blasts as workers leaving for the day
Witnesses told Reuters that employees inside the building had been taken to shelters by the authorities and no-one had been permitted to leave for a few hours.
They said the blasts they heard may have taken place at different exits as employees were leaving work for the day.
Broadcasters showed images of a damaged gate and footage of an exchange of gunfire in a parking lot.
The images also showed two attackers carrying assault rifles and backpacks as they entered the building. Ambulances and helicopters later arrived.
TUSAS is Turkey’s largest aerospace manufacturer, currently producing training craft, combat and civilian helicopters, as well as developing the country’s first indigenous fighter jet, KAAN.
Owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation and the government, it employs more than 10,000 people.
