Turkey Terror Attack: Hours after the deadly terror attack on the Turkish government’s aerospace and defense company TUSAS, killing five people and wounding more than a dozen, Ankara has launched a counter-attack on Kurdish militant hideouts in Iraq and Syria. Turkey’s defense ministry confirmed that its fighter jets struck and destroyed more than 30 targets in the aerial offensive.
The strike follows an attack on Wednesday by suspected Kurdish militants, who detonated explosives and opened fire at Turkey’s state-run aerospace and defense company, TUSAS, killing five people and injuring over a dozen, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. The two attackers, a man and a woman, were also killed in the incident.
Yerlikaya indicated that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is suspected to be behind the attack but emphasized that the process of identifying the assailants is still ongoing. Defense Minister Yasar Guler also blamed the PKK for the attack.
“We give these PKK scoundrels the punishment they deserve every time. But they never come to their senses…We will pursue them until the last terrorist is eliminated,” said Guler.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is attending the BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan, said, “I condemn this heinous terrorist attack.” Russian President Vladimir Putin also offered condolences. A US Embassy statement said Washington strongly condemns the terrorist attack.
What Is TUSAS?
TUSAS specializes in the design, production, and assembly of civilian and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and other defense and space systems. Its UAVs have played a crucial role in helping Turkey gain a strategic advantage in its operations against Kurdish militants, both within its own borders and in neighboring Iraq.
How The Attack Unfolded
According to Turkish media reports, the attackers arrived at the TUSAS complex on Wednesday in a taxi. Armed with assault rifles, they detonated an explosive device near the vehicle, causing chaos and enabling their entry into the facility. One of the victims was identified as Zahide Guclu, a mechanical engineer who had gone to the entrance to pick up flowers sent by her husband, reported the state-run Anadolu Agency.
The taxi driver was also killed by the assailants, with his body later found in the vehicle’s trunk, according to the agency. Orhan Akdundar, the brother of one of the TUSAS employees, was among the relatives anxiously waiting outside the complex for updates on their loved ones.
PKK-Turkey Clash Background
The attack took place a day after the leader of Turkey’s far-right nationalist party, which is aligned with President Erdogan, suggested the possibility of granting parole to the PKK’s imprisoned leader if he renounced violence and dissolved his organization. Abdullah Ocalan’s group has been waging a fight for autonomy in southeastern Turkey, a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s. Both Turkey and its Western allies classify the PKK as a terrorist organization. The country’s pro-Kurdish political party, which also condemned the attack, pointed out that it occurred at a moment when the potential for renewed dialogue to resolve the conflict had surfaced. (With agency inputs)
