Turkey’s government says its military struck sites on Wednesday night in Iraq and Syria linked to Kurdish militant group the PKK, after blaming it for an attack near Ankara that killed at least five people.
Various videos from the attack earlier on Wednesday show at least two people firing guns around the entrance of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), which is located some 40km (25 miles) outside the capital.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, in which 22 people were injured.
Turkish defence ministry initially said that 32 targets “belonging to the terrorists were successfully destroyed” in the retaliatory attacks, before increasing the number of targets destroyed to 47.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the attack on TAI “heinous” in a post on X.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that two attackers, a woman and a man, had been “neutralised”, adding that the attack had most likely involved the PKK.
Yerlikaya later wrote on social media that the male attacker had been identified as PKK member Ali Orek, and that efforts to identify the female perpetrator were ongoing.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is banned as a terrorist organisation in Turkey, the US and UK, and has been fighting against the Turkish state since the 1980s for greater rights for the country’s significant Kurdish minority.
Turkish media reported intelligence officials as saying that targets of the air strikes included military facilities, ammunition depots and energy infrastructure.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Thursday morning that Turkey had since launched a “new wave” of attacks, including on “civilian gatherings”, killing 12 people.
The Turkish defence ministry said earlier said that “all kinds of precautions were taken to prevent harm to innocent civilians, friendly elements, historical and cultural assets and the environment”.
Turkish Vice-President Cevdet Yilmaz said four of the victims of the attack near Ankara were TAI employees, while the fifth was a taxi driver.
The victims were named by Turkey’s state-run news agency as Cengiz Coskun, a quality control officer, Zahide Guclu, a mechanical engineer, security guard Atakan Sahin Erdogan, another employee called Huseyin Canbaz and Murat Arslan, the taxi driver.
Local media had earlier reported that the attackers killed the cab driver before taking his vehicle to carry out the attack.
The blast took place around the time of a shift change, and staff had to be directed to shelters, they said.
Yerlikaya also confirmed that seven special ops forces members were among the 22 who were injured in the attack.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attack in Ankara.
In a post on X, he wrote: “We stand shoulder to shoulder with Turkey as a Nato ally and close friend.”
President Erdogan – who is in Russia for the Brics summit – condemned what he called a “vile terror attack” during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in remarks broadcast live on TV.
He later posted a lengthy statement on X, saying that security forces acted quickly to neutralise the threat, and that “no terrorist organisation, no evil focus targeting our security will be able to achieve their goals”.
Turkish authorities have imposed a media blackout on details of the attack, and users in large areas of the country have reported not being able to use social media sites like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X.
The president of Turkey’s Radio and TV Supreme Council, Ebubekir Sahin, warned that all images relating to the incident should be removed from social media, and urged users not to share images which “will serve the purpose of terrorism”.
TAI is a key player in Turkey’s aerospace industry, designing, developing and manufacturing various aircraft for commercial and military use.
It is the company designated by the Nato member to be the licensed manufacturer for the US-designed F-16 fighter jets. TAI also plays a role in modernising older aircraft for use by the Turkish military.
The firm’s two principal owners are the Turkish Armed Forces and a civilian arm of Turkey’s government charged with improving its defence capabilities and managing military procurement.
The blast took place as a major trade fair for defence and aerospace industries was going on in Istanbul this week.
