At least four people were killed and 14 injured – with three in critical condition – in the “terrorist attack” on the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) headquarters in the outskirts of Ankara, said Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. Two attackers – a man and a woman – were killed, he added.
“I condemn this heinous attack. Our fight will continue with determination and determination until the last terrorist is neutralized,” Yerlikaya said.
“May God have mercy on our martyrs. I wish a speedy recovery to our injured.”
Yerlikaya did not say what organisation was behind the attack, as the process of identifying the assailants continued. But Defence Minister Yasar Guler pointed the finger at the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
“We give these PKK scoundrels the punishment they deserve every time. But they never come to their senses,” Guler said.
“We will pursue them until the last terrorist is eliminated.”
The Islamic State group and leftist extremists have also carried out past attacks in Turkey. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
“We have four martyrs. We have 14 wounded. I condemn this heinous terrorist attack,” Erdogan said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a BRICS meeting in Russia.
Russian President Putin expressed his condolences.
“You know how we feel about this. We condemn any manifestations of this kind, no matter what their motivations are,” Putin told Erdogan in his opening remarks, just hours after the attack.
A US Embassy statement said Washington “strongly condemns today’s terrorist attack.”
Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, said he has spoken with Erdogan about the “deeply concerning” attack.
“NATO stands with Turkey,” he said.
Ankara mayor Mansur Yavas said he was “saddened” by the attack on TUSAS, which was incorporated into Turkey’s Ministry of Industry and Technology in 1973 in order to reduce the country’s “foreign dependence in defence industry”, according to its website.
TUSAS designs, manufactures and assembles civilian and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and other defense industry and space systems.
Its UAVs have been instrumental in Turkey gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants both on its own territory and across the border in Iraq.
The attack occurred a day after the leader of Turkey’s far-right nationalist party that’s allied with Erdogan raised the possibility that the PKK’s imprisoned leader could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands his organisation.
Abdullah Ocalan’s group has been fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people since the 1980s. It is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.
The country’s pro-Kurdish political party, which also condemned the attack, noted that it had occurred at a time when the possibility of a dialogue to end the conflict had emerged.
How the attack unfolded
Turkish media said the assailants arrived on Wednesday at an entry to the TUSAS complex in a taxi. The assailants, carrying assault weapons, detonated an explosive device next to the taxi, causing panic and allowing them to enter.
The Interior Ministry said the attack was carried out by two assailants, and that the situation had been brought under control.
The taxi driver was among the dead, according to HaberTurk television.
A social media video verified and geolocated by CNN showed the moment an explosion rocked the TUSAS headquarters. After the blast, a person holding a firearm is seen running in what appears to be a parking lot.
Security camera images, aired on television, showed a man in plainclothes carrying a backpack and holding an assault rifle.
The interior minister said security teams were dispatched as soon as the attack started at around 3.30pm.
Multiple gunshots were heard after security forces entered the site, the DHA news agency and other media reported. Helicopters were seen flying above the premises.
Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said the target of the attack was Turkey’s “success in the defence industry.”