File image.
At least five people were killed and 22 others were wounded when two militants attacked on October 23 the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
After arriving in a stolen taxi, the militants, a man and a woman, stormed the TAI headquarters in Ankara’s Kahramankazan district. Following intense clashes and a blast at the entrance of the headquarters, Turkish authorities reported that the militants were both killed.
“In the terrorist attack on the TAI Kahramankazan facilities, two terrorists have been neutralized,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters. “Unfortunately, we have five martyrs. The total number of injured has reached 22.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the attack, saying: “I condemn this heinous attack on the facilities of the Turkish Aerospace Industries.”
Turkish media later reported that one of the militants was identified as a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The Kurdish guerilla group has been waging an insurgency against Turkey from within the country as well as from neighboring Syria and Iraq for over four decades.
Following the attack, Turkey’s National Defense Ministry said that its forces destroyed 32 targets in an air operation conducted in northern Iraq and Syria, and a significant number of militants were “neutralized.”
The ministry said in a statement that the operation was conducted in accordance with the legitimate right to self-defense arising from Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, with the aim of “neutralizing” PKK/KCK [Kurdistan Communities Union] and other “terrorist elements” to eliminate “terror attacks” against the public and security forces and to ensure border security.
The statement said 32 targets belonging to militants were successfully destroyed and that air operations continue decisively.
“The Turkish Armed Forces, arising from our noble nation, will continue the fight against terrorism with determination and resolve for the survival and security of our country and nation until not a single terrorist remains, as in the past,” the ministry said.
“During these operations, all necessary measures have been taken to ensure that innocent civilians, friendly elements, historical and cultural assets and the environment are not harmed,” it added.
The next day, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported that Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) also launched strikes against “the PKK/YPG [People’s Defense Units] terrorists” in northern Iraq and Syria in response to the attack on the TAI headquarters in Ankara.
The strikes hit several strategic locations, including energy infrastructure buildings, logistics centers, and ammunition depots belonging to “the terrorist organization,” security sources told the news agency, adding that the MIT will continue its operations against the PKK/YPG until all planned objectives are achieved.
Turkey will likely take advantage of the deadly attack to escalate its operations against Kurdish forces, especially in northern Syria.
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