Türkiye steps up airstrikes on PKK in Iraq, Syria after Ankara attack

Türkiye launched fresh airstrikes on Kurdistan Workers Party militants in Syria and Iraq overnight, hitting 47 targets, in response to a gun attack in Ankara

Türkiye launched fresh airstrikes on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in Syria and Iraq overnight, hitting 47 targets, in response to a gun attack that killed five people in Ankara, Defence Minister Yasar Guler said on Thursday.

Two assailants carried out an assault with automatic rifles and explosives on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) in Türkiye's capital on Wednesday afternoon. Twenty-two people were also wounded.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, during which both militants were killed. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the male attacker was confirmed to be a PKK member, while the female assailant was not yet been identified.

Turkish forces struck PKK 29 targets in northern Iraq and 18 in northern Syria, Guler said, adding that several militants were "neutralised", a term usually used to mean killed.

Türkiye regularly targets the PKK in Iraq and Syria with fighter jets and drones and TUSAS is Türkiye's largest aerospace manufacturer, producing drones, helicopters, training craft and developing the country's first indigenous fighter jet, KAAN.

Security was tightened at TUSAS headquarters on Thursday, with security forces searching vehicles and checking people's identities, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.

The alert level was raised to "orange" at Turkish airports as part of increased security measures.

President Tayyip Erdogan, alongside Russia's Vladimir Putin at a BRICS conference in the Russian city of Kazan, condemned the attack, as did NATO, the United States, and European Union.

Copied