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TerrorismTurkey

Kurdistan Workers' Party claims deadly Ankara attack

October 25, 2024

The PKK has claimed responsibility for this week's attack on Turkish defense firm TUSAS that killed five people in Ankara, the militant group said in a statement.

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Ambulances wait in line outside of Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. at the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey
Turkish President Erdogan has condemned the 'cowardly' attack Image: AP/picture alliance

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Friday claimed an attack on a state-run Turkish defense firm in Ankara that killed five people and wounded 22 others earlier this week.

Two assailants carried out Wednesday's onslaught with automatic rifles and explosives on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in the Turkish capital.

"The act of sacrifice at TAI campus in Ankara at around 15:30 local time on Wednesday was carried out by a team of the immortals battalion" of the PKK, it said on Telegram, referring to Turkish Aerospace Industries.

Previously, the Turkish government had said it had proof the PKK was responsible while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack targeted "the survival of our country."

Turkey responds by striking PKK targets

A few hours after Wednesday's assault, the Turkish government launched airstrikes on PKK targets in northern Iraq and Syria. The PKK has its headquarters in the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq.

The group has waged an on-off insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and is regarded as a terror group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Turkey blames Kurdish group for attack on defense firm

In 2011 President Erdogan supported backchannel peace efforts in a bid to resolve the issue but the fragile truce collapsed in 2015 in a fresh round of violence.

This prompted Erdogan's AKP government along with its junior partner, the far-right MHP, to change tack, ramping up military pressure on the Kurdish rebels.

jsi/wd (AFP, dpa, Reuters)