Turkish jets strike in retaliation to ‘terrorist’ attack at defence company that killed five

Ankara: Turkey’s Defence Ministry says Turkish jets have struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria following an attack on a key defence company.

More than 30 targets were “destroyed” in the aerial offensive, the ministry said in a brief statement carried by the state-run Anadolu Agency.

A member of the Turkish Jandarma stands guard at the entrance of the Turkish Aerospace Industries facility after the attack.Credit: Getty Images

The strike comes after suspected Kurdish militants set off explosives and opened fire on Wednesday at Turkey’s state-run aerospace and defence company TUSAS, killing five people and wounding 22 others.

The two attackers – a man and a woman – also were killed, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

“Sadly, we have five martyrs and 22 wounded in the attack. Three of the injured were already discharged from hospital, 19 of them under treatment,” he said.

Yerlikaya said the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, was suspected of being behind the attack, but cautioned that the process of identifying the assailants continued. Defence Minister Yasar Guler 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.”

The Islamic State group and leftist extremists have also carried out past 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 a BRICS meeting in Russia.

Putin offered condolences. A US embassy statement said Washington “strongly condemns today’s terrorist attack”.

TUSAS designs, manufactures and assembles civilian and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and other defence industry and space systems. Its UAVs have been instrumental in Turkey gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants both on its own territory and across the border in Iraq.

The attack occurred a day after the leader of Turkey’s far-right nationalist party that is allied with Erdogan raised the possibility that the PKK’s imprisoned leader could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands his organisation.

Abdullah Ocalan’s group has been fighting for autonomy in south-east Turkey in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people since the 1980s. It is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.

The country’s pro-Kurdish political party, which also condemned the attack, noted that it had occurred at a time when the possibility of a dialogue to end the conflict had emerged.

People gather outside of Turkish Aerospace Industries after the shooting.Credit: AP

Turkish media said the assailants arrived at an entry to the TUSAS complex in a taxi on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT). The assailants, carrying assault weapons, detonated an explosive device next to the taxi, causing panic and allowing them to enter.

The taxi driver was among the dead, according to HaberTurk television.

Security camera images, aired on television, showed a man in plain clothes carrying a backpack and holding an assault rifle.

The interior minister said security teams were dispatched as soon as the attack started at around 3.30pm Ankara time.

Multiple gunshots were heard after security forces entered the site, the DHA news agency and other media reported. Helicopters were seen flying above the premises.

Authorities issued a temporary blackout on the coverage of the attack and went on to throttle access to social media websites.

AP

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