Attackers kill 5, injure 22 at Turkish aviation site
A general view of the entrance of the headquarters of Türkiye's aviation company TUSAS, where three people were killed and five others wounded in an attack, near Kahramankazan, a town of Turkish capital Ankara, Oct 23, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Stringer)
ANKARA: Two attackers killed five people and wounded 22 others on Wednesday (Oct 23) in what Ankara called a terrorist attack at the Turkish Aerospace Industries headquarters, where witnesses said they heard gunfire and an explosion.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said both attackers were killed after the attack, adding two of the injured are in critical condition. TV broadcasters showed footage of armed assailants entering the TUSAS building near Ankara.
"Two terrorists were neutralised in the terror attack on the TUSAS Ankara Kahramankazan site," Yerlikaya said.
"Sadly, we have 5 martyrs and 22 wounded in the attack. Three of the injured were already discharged from hospital, 19 of them under treatment," he said.
Yerlikaya also said the perpetrators were "highly likely" members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
"The style of the act shows that it's highly likely the PKK that carried out the attack. Once identification is completed and other evidence become clearer, we'll share more concrete information with you," he said.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, alongside Russia's Vladimir Putin at a BRICS conference in the Russian city of Kazan, condemned the attack and accepted Putin's condolences. NATO, the United States and the European Union also condemned the attack.
Witnesses told Reuters that employees inside the building had been taken to shelters by the authorities and no one had been permitted to leave for a few hours. They said the blasts they heard may have taken place at different exits as employees were leaving work for the day.
Broadcasters showed images of a damaged gate and footage of an exchange of gunfire in a parking lot, as well as the two attackers carrying assault rifles and backpacks as they entered the building. Ambulances and helicopters later arrived.
TUSAS is Türkiye's largest aerospace manufacturer, currently producing training craft, combat and civilian helicopters, as well as developing the country's first indigenous fighter jet, KAAN. Owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation and government, it employs more than 10,000 people.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte condemned the attack and said the military alliance would stand with its ally Türkiye.
