(CNN) – The Turkish Army attacked 32 targets in Iraq and Syria, following an attack against a state aerospace company near the capital, Ankara, the country’s Ministry of Defense reported this Wednesday night.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS), which left five dead and 22 injured. However, Turkish officials pointed the finger at the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group classified as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the European Union and the United States.
“Air operations against terrorist targets in northern Iraq and Syria were carried out on October 23, 2024, and a total of 32 targets were successfully destroyed,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that “a large number of terrorists were neutralized.”
This Thursday, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the two attackers were members of the PKK. Both were shot down.
Four TUSAS employees and a taxi driver were killed in the Ankara attack, according to Türkiye’s Interior Ministry. The driver, Murat Arslan, was killed by the attackers and his body was hidden in the trunk of his vehicle after picking them up at a taxi rank, state news agency Anadolu reported.
One of the TUSAS employees, Zahide Güçlü, was heading to the entrance of the complex to receive flowers sent by her husband when the attack occurred, according to Anadolu.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his ultimate goal is to eliminate the PKK, which has fought the Turkish state for more than three decades. Türkiye is also unhappy with the strong Kurdish presence in northeastern Syria, near the Turkish border. In 2019, it began a planned military offensive in northeastern Syria aimed at driving Kurdish forces away from its border.
Türkiye responds for terrorist attacks in Ankara
“Our fight will continue with determination and firmness until the last terrorist is neutralized,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya declared on Wednesday after the attack. “May God have mercy on our martyrs. I wish our injured a speedy recovery.”
A video that circulated on social networks that was verified and geolocated by CNN showed the moment when an explosion shook the TUSAS headquarters. After the explosion, a person with a firearm is seen running in what appears to be a parking lot.
TUSAS was incorporated into Turkey’s Ministry of Industry and Technology in 1973 in order to reduce the country’s “foreign dependence on the defense industry,” according to its website.
“This is one of the largest defense companies in the country. It is producing armed drones and fighter jets,” Ragip Soylu, Turkey bureau chief for media outlet Middle East Eye, told CNN.
The attack occurred while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in the Russian city of Kazan to attend the annual BRICS summit.
Türkiye is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Mark Rutte, NATO secretary general, said he spoke to Erdogan about the “deeply worrying” attack. “NATO supports Turkey,” he said.
For his part, Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas said he is “saddened” by Wednesday’s “terrorist attack” against the major defense company. In his official account on
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences.
“You know how we feel about that. “We condemn any such demonstration, no matter what its motivations,” Putin told Erdogan in his opening remarks, just hours after the attack.
The US State Department is “following reports” of the attack, a spokesperson told CNN.
The US embassy in Türkiye “strongly condemned” the attack on X, saying “we stand with our ally Türkiye.”
This story and the headline have been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Anna Chernova, Gul Tuysuz, Catherine Nicholls and Jennifer Hansler contributed reporting.
