Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya spoke while visiting the headquarters of Turkish aviation company TUSAS, where an attack on October 23, 2024 near Kahramankazan, a city north of the Turkish capital Ankara, killed two people and more than a dozen others. Were injured. Photo courtesy: Reuters
Turkey’s air force on Wednesday (October 23, 2024) struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria in an apparent retaliation. Attack on a major government defense company In which five people died and more than 20 people were injured.
The Defense Ministry said more than 30 targets were “destroyed” in the airstrikes, without giving details about the locations where they were struck. It said “all precautions” were taken to prevent harm to civilians.
The attack came hours after suspected Kurdish militants planted explosives and opened fire on aerospace and defense company TUSAS. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the two attackers – a man and a woman – were also killed. At least 22 people, including seven security personnel, were injured during the attack.
Mr Yerlikaya said the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, was believed to be behind the attack on the defense company. Defense Minister Yasar Güler also pointed the finger at the PKK.
“We give these PKK scoundrels the punishment they deserve every time. But they never come to their senses,” Guler said. “We will pursue them until the last terrorist is eliminated.”
Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes against the PKK – which has a foothold in Iraq – and against Kurdish militia groups in Syria that are affiliated with the militants.
There was no immediate statement from the PKK.
The Islamic State group and leftist extremists have carried out previous attacks in Turkey.
“I condemn this heinous terrorist attack,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting in Russia.
attack on ankara
Turkish media said the attackers arrived at the entrance of the TUSAS complex in a taxi on Wednesday. The attackers brought weapons and detonated an explosive device next to the taxi, causing panic and allowing them to get inside.
One of the victims was identified as Zahide Güçlü, a mechanical engineer, who had gone to the entrance to pick up flowers sent by her husband, the state-run Anadolu Agency.
The agency said the attackers also killed the taxi driver and his body was found in the trunk of the vehicle.
Orhan Aktundar, a brother of a TUSAS employee, was among the relatives waiting outside the compound for news of their loved ones.
“I called my brother who was inside and said, ‘What happened?’ There was a bomb explosion and there was a lot of commotion, said Mr. Akadunder. Then there were a lot of ambulances. The phones were switched off and I couldn’t establish communication.”
According to a video broadcast by HaberTurk, an unidentified TÜSAS employee shouted: “We will work harder and produce more in the face of traitors” as he and other colleagues were being evacuated from the compound.
Security camera images broadcast on television showed a man in plain clothes holding a backpack and an assault rifle.
The Interior Minister said that security teams were dispatched as soon as the attack began at around 3:30 pm.
The DHA news agency and other media reported that several gunshots were heard after security forces entered the site. Helicopters were seen flying over the campus.
Authorities placed a temporary halt on coverage of the attack and blocked access to social media websites.
Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said the target of the attack was Türkiye’s “success in the defense industry”.
The Iraqi Embassy in Ankara issued a statement condemning the attack. It added that the embassy “reaffirms Iraq’s firm position in rejecting terrorism and extremism in all its forms and manifestations, and expresses the solidarity of the Government and people of Iraq with the Government and people of the Republic of Turkey.” Earlier this year, Iraq had announced a ban on PKK.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres both expressed their solidarity with Türkiye.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also condemned the attack. “Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the families of the victims,” he said on Twitter.
published – October 24, 2024 04:22 am IST