Ankara [Turkey], October 25: The two armed assailants who died in an attack on Turkey's state-run aerospace and defence company near the capital Ankara have been identified as members of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a government official said on Thursday.
"Both attackers are PKK members," Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated on the platform X. The PKK has not yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
The assailants - one man and one woman - killed five people, most of them employees, and injured 22 others in their attack on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS). The suspects were killed by security forces.
Turkish media reported the attackers arrived at the scene in a commandeered taxi and that the driver had been killed. CCTV footage showed the two entering the facility with backpacks and rifles. TUSAS is a developer and producer of combat aircraft and drones.
Turkey has since struck 47 "PKK targets" in northern Iraq and northern Syria, according to the Ministry of Defence. Defence Minister Ya?ar Güler said numerous "terrorists have been neutralized" in these operations.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by Kurdish militias, stated that Turkey attacked civilian infrastructure, gatherings and security forces in northern and eastern Syria. They reported that at least 12 civilians were killed and 25 others were injured, some severely.
The PKK - which is classified as a terrorist organization by Ankara, the European Union and the United States - has not claimed responsibility for the assault on Wednesday.
The PKK has been fighting against the Turkish state since the 1980s and frequently carries out attacks. Turkey regularly conducts military operations against the PKK, whose headquarters are in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq, and the Syrian Kurdish People's Defence Units (YPG) in Syria. The YPG leads the SDF and is considered by Ankara to be an offshoot of the PKK.
Source: Qatar Tribune