At least five people were killed and 22 others were injured when armed gunmen attacked the main facility of the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in Ankara city on Wednesday.
Country’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed the incident and said security forces neutralised the two attackers.”Two terrorists were neutralized in the terrorist attack targeting the Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TUSAŞ) Ankara Kahramankazan facilities,” the Minister wrote in X.
“Unfortunately, we have 3 martyrs and 14 injured in the attack,” he said.
“I condemn this heinous attack. Our struggle will continue with determination and resolve until the last terrorist is neutralized,” he said.
No terror group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far.
According to reports, the two attackers (one of whom is a woman) were neutralised by security forces.
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler suspects Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) could be behind the attack though no group has claimed responsibility yet.
Without elaborating on the attackers’ identities, Guler told reporters as quoted by CNN, “We [Turkey] punish the dishonourable PKK members as they deserve over and over again but they never seem to learn.”
Meanwhile, the Turkish defense ministry said it struck PKK targets in northern Iraq and Syria, Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu reported, according to CNN.
Turkey hits back
“Turkish forces destroyed 32 terrorist targets in an air operation conducted in northern Iraq and Syria, and a significant number of terrorists were ‘neutralized’,” the agency wrote.
The attack occurred at a time when the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was visiting Russia to attend the BRICS Summit.
Erdogan reacts
Reacting to the incident, Erdogan posted on X: “The terrorist attack against TAI, one of the locomotive organizations of the Turkish defence industry, is a vile attack targeting the survival of our country, the peace of our nation, and our defence initiatives that are the symbol of our ‘Fully Independent Turkey’ ideal.”
He said: “Our fight against all kinds of terrorist threats and their supporters will continue with determination, resolve and in a multi-dimensional manner.”
