Attack in Ankara, Türkiye: Five dead and 22 injured in attack on Turkish aerospace company

CNN
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Armed attackers carried out a deadly “terrorist” attack on Turkey's state-owned aerospace company near the capital Ankara on Wednesday, government officials said.

At least five people were killed and 22 injured in the “terrorist attack” on the headquarters of the Turkish Aerospace Industry (TUSAS) on the outskirts of Ankara, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. Two attackers – a man and a woman – were killed, he added.

According to Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılma, four TUSAS employees and the taxi driver who drove the attackers to the facility were among the dead.

A social media video verified and geolocated by CNN showed the moment an explosion rocked the TUSAS headquarters. After the explosion, a person with a gun is seen running into what appears to be a parking lot.

In a separate video confirmed by CNN, CCTV footage shows the attackers with backpacks and weapons approaching the entrance to the aerospace company's headquarters.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. But when asked by journalists for an answer, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Güler suggested that the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) could be behind it. The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.

Without elaborating on the identity of the attackers, Güler told reporters: “We (Turkey) keep punishing the dishonorable PKK members as they deserve, but they never seem to learn.”

The interior minister later said that although the process to identify the attackers was ongoing, an initial assessment suggested that the PKK was behind the attack.

“As soon as it is clear which terrorist group it is, it will be announced. But I'll put it this way: we also heard the Defense Minister's comments. The way the attack was carried out and the video we saw suggested from the beginning that the PKK carried out the attack. That is our assessment,” Yerlikaya told reporters in Ankara outside the hospital where some of the injured were being treated.

The attack came a day after the leader of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party raised Kurdish relations in parliament, where he suggested offering the jailed PKK leader release if he disbanded the organization, Reuters reported.

Later on Wednesday, several Kurdish areas in Syria and Iraq were attacked by Turkey.

After the attack, the aerospace company's chief executive, Mehmet Demiroglu, left a high-profile defense trade fair early to return to Ankara, state news agency Anadolu reported.

According to its website, TUSAS was incorporated into Turkey's Ministry of Industry and Technology in 1973 to reduce the “foreign dependence” of the country's defense industry.

“This is one of the largest defense companies in the country. It produces armed drones and fighter jets,” Ragip Soylu, Turkish bureau chief of the Middle East Eye news agency, told CNN.

The attack occurred as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in the Russian city of Kazan to attend the annual BRICS summit. He condemned the “hateful attack” along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Erdogan thanked for his condolences.

Erdogan, in a post on “I wish my best wishes to our nation and the dedicated employees of TUSAS, the source of pride for our defense industry,” the Turkish president wrote.

Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Mark Rutte, NATO's secretary general, said he had spoken to Erdogan about the “deeply worrying” attack. “NATO stands with Turkey,” he said.

Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas said he was “saddened” by the blow to TUSAS, a major defense contractor. Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation into the attack had been launched.

Wednesday's attack will “raise many questions” in a country that has not seen this kind of violence for several years, Turkey expert Aslı Aydıntaşbaş told CNN.

Aydıntaşbaş, associate senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, noted that the attack was the first of its kind in “several years” and came as the Turkish government began “exploring the idea of ​​a peace process.” the PKK.

“An attack on a major Turkish defense company, a public company, but also on the crown jewel of the Turkish defense industry, will be a great trauma,” she said. “It will also raise a lot of questions and suspicions in Turkey about what the motives are and who might be behind it.”

“There will be a lot of theories and a lot of confusion until we know who actually planned and carried out this,” Aydıntaşbaş added.

Turkey attacks Kurdish areas in Iraq and Syria

After the attack near Ankara, Turkey's Defense Ministry said it had attacked PKK targets in northern Iraq and Syria, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported.

“Turkish forces destroyed 32 terrorist targets and a significant number of terrorists were “neutralized” in an air operation in northern Iraq and Syria, the agency wrote.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which operates in northeastern Syria, said the Turkish military shelled the towns of Kobani and Tal Rifaat, north of Aleppo. Farhad Shami, head of SDF media, said in a statement late Wednesday that two civilians were killed and six others were injured in the attacks.

“Turkey is bombing our areas indiscriminately and unjustifiedly, targeting civilian, service and health centers. “This is a war crime,” said SDF Commander General Mazloum Abdî on X.

The USA distinguishes between the SDF and the PKK. But Turkey considers the SDF and its People's Protection Units (YPG) – the US-backed Kurdish militia that fought against ISIS – to be part of the PKK.

Meanwhile in Iraq, Kamiran Hassan, the mayor of Mawat district in Sulaymaniyah province in Iraq's Kurdistan region, told CNN that Mount Asos was attacked twice by Turkish airstrikes.

Turkish President Erdogan said his ultimate goal is to eliminate the PKK, which has been fighting the Turkish state for more than three decades. Turkey has also long been dissatisfied with the strong Kurdish presence in northeastern Syria near the Turkish border. In 2019, Turkey launched a planned military offensive in northeastern Syria with the aim of pushing Kurdish forces away from the Turkish border.

Previously, the Turkish Communications Center to Combat Disinformation warned people not to rely only on official statements and “not to believe unfounded accusations.”

Turkish authorities announced a broadcast ban after the attack, saying it was an attempt to avoid any kind of “terrorist propaganda.” Broadcasters and social media companies have been urged to crack down on the spread of “unconfirmed information and images,” with the risk of “severe sanctions” if they fail to comply, according to the head of Turkey's state-run Supreme Council of Radio and Television, Ebubekir Şahin said on X.

Following the announcement, internet monitoring firm Netblocks said live metrics showed that social media platforms, including X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok, had been restricted in Turkey.

Russian President Putin expressed his condolences. “You know how we feel about it. “We condemn any statements of this kind, regardless of their motives,” Putin told Erdogan in his opening speech, just hours after the attack.

The US State Department is “following reports” of the attack, a spokesman told CNN. The US Embassy in Turkey condemned the attack on X “in the strongest terms” and said: “We stand with our ally Türkiye.”

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.