At least five people were killed and 22 others injured in an attack on the headquarters of a top Turkish defence firm near the capital Ankara on Wednesday.
The two attackers, a woman and a man, now “neutralised”, were allegedly seen on camera carrying out the deadly attack at the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), located some 40 kilometres north of Ankara.
Various videos from the attack showed them carrying bags and firing bullets using what appeared to be assault rifles.
A video also showed a huge explosion rocking the headquarters of the state-run company.
🚨 Breaking: Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) targeted in a deadly terror attack in Ankara.
Reports confirm six killed and over 20 wounded. Authorities suspect PKK involvement.
One suicide bomber detonated at the facility, which manufactures Turkey’s KAAN fighter jets.… pic.twitter.com/dcb1KzOJKu
— Turki (@ElephantsMusk) October 23, 2024
An unconfirmed report by private channel NTV said a “group of terrorists” had burst into the building, one of whom “blew himself up”. Some news outlets reported exchanges of fire for over an hour.
Media reports also said that the attackers killed the cab driver before taking his vehicle to carry out the attack.
Turkey’s vice president Cevdet Yilmaz said four of the victims were TAI employees while the fifth was a taxi driver.
There was no immediate claim for the attack but Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said it was “very likely” carried out by Kurdish militants.
“The way in which this action was carried out is very probably linked to the PKK,” he said, referring to the group involved in decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was in Russia for talks with Vladimir Putin, called it a “heinous” attack on Turkey’s defence industry.
“The terrorist attack against TAI, one of the locomotive organizations of the Turkish defense industry, is a vile attack targeting the survival of our country, the peace of our nation, and our defense initiatives that are the symbol of our “Fully Independent Turkey” ideal,” he said on X.
