Kieran Kelly
Wed 23 October 2024
Four people have been killed after attackers opened fire at an aerospace company
A man and a woman wielding automatic weapons opened fire on staff at the headquarters of a Turkish aerospace company on Wednesday in a deadly terror attack.
Two attackers drove a beaten-up yellow taxi to the entrance of Turkish Aerospace Industries (Tusas) in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, before launching their assault.
CCTV footage showed at least two attackers shooting at people fleeing in the company’s car park.
Five people were killed and around a dozen more were injured in the attack, which occurred at around 3.30pm local time in the Kahramankazan district.
One assailant reportedly detonated a bomb at the entrance of Tusas’s HQ before a gunman dressed in black was filmed jumping over entry turnstiles and firing through automatic doors from inside the building.
Four people have been killed after attackers opened fire at an aerospace company
A man and a woman wielding automatic weapons opened fire on staff at the headquarters of a Turkish aerospace company on Wednesday in a deadly terror attack.
Two attackers drove a beaten-up yellow taxi to the entrance of Turkish Aerospace Industries (Tusas) in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, before launching their assault.
CCTV footage showed at least two attackers shooting at people fleeing in the company’s car park.
Five people were killed and around a dozen more were injured in the attack, which occurred at around 3.30pm local time in the Kahramankazan district.
One assailant reportedly detonated a bomb at the entrance of Tusas’s HQ before a gunman dressed in black was filmed jumping over entry turnstiles and firing through automatic doors from inside the building.
One of the attackers, a woman, carried out the attack with a Kalashnikov rifle, according to reports, while the man wielded a PK machine gun.
Ali Yerlikaya, Turkey’s interior minister, confirmed that she and another assailant were “neutralised”.
Investigations into the identity of the perpetrators are ongoing. In the past, Kurdish militants, ISIS and leftist extremists have carried out terror attacks in Turkey.
Mr Yerlikaya said it was “most likely” carried out by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist terror organisation.
Turkey’s interior minister confirmed the female attacker and another assailant were ‘neutralised’
The PKK is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, Britain, the US and the European Union. It has been fighting a separatist insurgency since 1984, with more than 40,000 people killed in the conflict.
In September, Turkey said it destroyed 20 PKK “targets” in a series of air strikes in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
The PKK has been noted for its use of female fighters as around 40 per cent of the PKK’s troops were reported to be women in 2014.
It is not yet clear how many people were involved in the attack and whether there were other suspects still at large.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish president, said he condemned the “heinous terrorist attack” as he attended the Brics summit in the Russian city of Kazan, where he thanked Vladimir Putin for his condolences.
CCTV from the site showed an armed attacker entering the building
Mr Erdoğan later said in a statement: “Our nation should know that dirty hands reaching out to Turkey will definitely be broken; no structure, no terrorist organisation, no evil focused on our security will be able to achieve their goals.”
Tusas’s headquarters in Kahramankazan is believed to house around 15,000 employees.
Local media first reported that a huge explosion was followed by gunfire, before claiming that hostages had been taken in a suspected suicide bomb attack.
Security forces stormed the site as ambulances and firefighters were dispatched to the site, NTV television reported. Employees at the company were taken to a safe area.
Tusas is considered to be one of Turkey’s most important defence and aviation companies.
The company manufactures the advanced Kaan fighter jet along with other planes, helicopters and drones for the Turkish defence industry.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Ali Yerlikaya, Turkey’s interior minister, confirmed that she and another assailant were “neutralised”.
Investigations into the identity of the perpetrators are ongoing. In the past, Kurdish militants, ISIS and leftist extremists have carried out terror attacks in Turkey.
Mr Yerlikaya said it was “most likely” carried out by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist terror organisation.
Turkey’s interior minister confirmed the female attacker and another assailant were ‘neutralised’
The PKK is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, Britain, the US and the European Union. It has been fighting a separatist insurgency since 1984, with more than 40,000 people killed in the conflict.
In September, Turkey said it destroyed 20 PKK “targets” in a series of air strikes in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
The PKK has been noted for its use of female fighters as around 40 per cent of the PKK’s troops were reported to be women in 2014.
It is not yet clear how many people were involved in the attack and whether there were other suspects still at large.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish president, said he condemned the “heinous terrorist attack” as he attended the Brics summit in the Russian city of Kazan, where he thanked Vladimir Putin for his condolences.
CCTV from the site showed an armed attacker entering the building
Mr Erdoğan later said in a statement: “Our nation should know that dirty hands reaching out to Turkey will definitely be broken; no structure, no terrorist organisation, no evil focused on our security will be able to achieve their goals.”
Tusas’s headquarters in Kahramankazan is believed to house around 15,000 employees.
Local media first reported that a huge explosion was followed by gunfire, before claiming that hostages had been taken in a suspected suicide bomb attack.
Security forces stormed the site as ambulances and firefighters were dispatched to the site, NTV television reported. Employees at the company were taken to a safe area.
Tusas is considered to be one of Turkey’s most important defence and aviation companies.
The company manufactures the advanced Kaan fighter jet along with other planes, helicopters and drones for the Turkish defence industry.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Security forces were deployed to the site of the attack - Serdar Ozsoy/Getty
The last terror attack in Turkey was claimed by Isis. Two gunmen opened fire inside a Catholic church in Istanbul, killing one, in January of this year.
Wednesday’s attack came after Devlet Bahçeli, Mr Erdoğan’s coalition partner and leader of the ultra-nationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), suggested PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan could be granted parole if he renounced violence and disbanded the organisation.
Ocalan has been serving a life sentence on Imrali Island in the Sea of Marmara since February 1999 for founding and leading a terrorist organisation.
Mr Erdoğan is reportedly seeking support from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) to push for constitutional changes.
Rumours have grown in recent weeks of a possible resumption of talks between Turkey and the PKK as part of fresh efforts to end a conflict that began 40 years ago.
Mr Bahceli’s speech was extraordinary given his usual vitriolic rhetoric towards Ocalan, the PKK and DEM politicians.
The DEM party questioned the timing of the attack in parliament on Wednesday and referred to it as a “provocation”.
A member of Mr Erdoğan’s ruling party, Ozlen Zengin, also said: “I find the timing very significant... Why today? Why Tusas?”
Turkish politicians and international politicians were quick to condemn Wednesday’s attack. “We stand with Turkey. We strongly condemn all forms of terrorism,” Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of Nato, posted on X.
Turkey throttled social media following the attack and applied a broadcast ban, citing the sharing of unconfirmed images.
In a post on X on Wednesday evening, Sir Keir Starmer offered condolences to the families of the victims.
He said: “I am appalled by the terrorist attack in Ankara.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with Turkey as a NATO ally and close friend.
“Our thoughts are with the families of victims and all those affected.”
Turkey points finger at PKK as attack on defence firm kills five, injures 22
FRANCE 24
Wed 23 October 2024 at 7:54 am GMT-6·1-min read
Five people were killed and 22 others wounded in an attack on the headquarters of Turkish defence firm TUSAS, located near the capital Ankara, Turkish officials said Wednesday, pointing the finger at Kurdish separatists who have carried out attacks in the past.
Assailants set off explosives and opened fire in an attack Wednesday on the premises of the Turkish state-run aerospace and defence company TUSAS, killing five people and wounding several more, Turkish officials said. At least two of the attackers died.
“I condemn this heinous terrorist attack and wish mercy on our martyrs,” Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a BRICS meeting in Kazan, Russia.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya pointed the finger at the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the government.
"The identification process and the search for fingerprints are continuing and we will say which terrorist organisation was behind the attack... The way in which this action was carried out is very probably linked to the PKK," Yerlikaya said.
He said efforts to identify the perpetrators were ongoing.
Kurdish militants, the Islamic State group and leftist extremists have all carried out attacks in the country in the past.
'Terror attack'
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP)
Wed 23 October 2024 at 7:54 am GMT-6·1-min read
Five people were killed and 22 others wounded in an attack on the headquarters of Turkish defence firm TUSAS, located near the capital Ankara, Turkish officials said Wednesday, pointing the finger at Kurdish separatists who have carried out attacks in the past.
Assailants set off explosives and opened fire in an attack Wednesday on the premises of the Turkish state-run aerospace and defence company TUSAS, killing five people and wounding several more, Turkish officials said. At least two of the attackers died.
“I condemn this heinous terrorist attack and wish mercy on our martyrs,” Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a BRICS meeting in Kazan, Russia.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya pointed the finger at the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the government.
"The identification process and the search for fingerprints are continuing and we will say which terrorist organisation was behind the attack... The way in which this action was carried out is very probably linked to the PKK," Yerlikaya said.
He said efforts to identify the perpetrators were ongoing.
Kurdish militants, the Islamic State group and leftist extremists have all carried out attacks in the country in the past.
'Terror attack'
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP)
UK Prime Minister ‘appalled’ by deadly attack on Turkish defence company
John Besley, PA
Wed 23 October 2024
The Prime Minister said he was “appalled” by a terrorist attack on a Turkish defence company that left five people dead and more than 20 injured.
Authorities said suspected Kurdish militants set off explosives and opened fire at the state-run aerospace and defence company TUSAS on Wednesday.
Interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said the two attackers – a man and a woman – were killed in the incident, while at least 22 people were wounded.
In a post on X on Wednesday evening, Sir Keir Starmer offered condolences to the families of the victims.
He said: “I am appalled by the terrorist attack in Ankara.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with Turkey as a NATO ally and close friend.
“Our thoughts are with the families of victims and all those affected.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the attack “heinous”, while a US Embassy statement said Washington “strongly” condemned the attack.
Wed 23 October 2024
The Prime Minister said he was “appalled” by a terrorist attack on a Turkish defence company that left five people dead and more than 20 injured.
Authorities said suspected Kurdish militants set off explosives and opened fire at the state-run aerospace and defence company TUSAS on Wednesday.
Interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said the two attackers – a man and a woman – were killed in the incident, while at least 22 people were wounded.
In a post on X on Wednesday evening, Sir Keir Starmer offered condolences to the families of the victims.
He said: “I am appalled by the terrorist attack in Ankara.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with Turkey as a NATO ally and close friend.
“Our thoughts are with the families of victims and all those affected.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the attack “heinous”, while a US Embassy statement said Washington “strongly” condemned the attack.
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