A Kurdish rebel group has claimed responsibility for an attack on the headquarters of a state-owned defense manufacturer near the Turkish capital, Ankara, where five people were killed.
The PKK stated that they targeted Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) on Wednesday because the weapons produced there had resulted in the deaths of “thousands” of Kurds, including women and children.
In a statement, the group mentioned that the attack, which left 22 people injured, had been “planned for a long time” – contradicting allegations that it was carried out to disrupt rumored reconciliation efforts between the PKK and the Turkish government.
TAI is a crucial supplier for Turkey’s military, supplying F-16 fighter jets.
The Turkish government had previously accused the PKK of the attack, naming the attackers as PKK members Ali Orek and Mine Sevjin Alcicek.
Subsequently, numerous air strikes were launched on what were described as PKK locations in Iraq and Syria.
Turkey reported that 59 “terrorists” were killed in the strikes – although the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces claimed that 12 civilians, including children, were among the casualties.
The Ministry of Defense announced that Turkish forces had also eliminated more PKK militants.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is recognized as a terrorist organization in Turkey, the US, and UK, and has been fighting against the Turkish state since the 1980s for greater rights for the country’s significant Kurdish minority.
The PKK’s armed wing, the People’s Defense Forces (HPG), referred to Orek and Alcicek as an “autonomous team” from the “Immortals Battalion”, praising them as “heroes”.
The HPG stated that TAI was a “military target” that they had a “legitimate right” to attack as it was where “weapons of massacre are produced”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the attack as “heinous”.
He affirmed that “no terrorist organization, no evil focus targeting our security will be able to achieve their goals”.
TAI plays a major role in Turkey’s aerospace industry, designing, developing, and manufacturing various aircraft for commercial and military purposes.
In addition to being the licensed manufacturer of US-designed F-16 fighter jets for NATO member Turkey, the company is involved in the modernization of older aircraft for the Turkish military.
The HPG stated that they “do not take actions frequently as a principle”, but occasionally carry out “self-sacrificing” acts that serve as “warnings and messages” to the Turkish government.
The victims were identified by Turkey’s state-run news agency as TAI employees Cengiz Coskun, Zahide Guclu, Atakan Sahin Erdogan, Huseyin Canbaz, and taxi driver Murat Arslan.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed that the two attackers had been “neutralized”.
The HPG also clarified that Wednesday’s attack had “nothing to do with the political agenda debated in Turkey in the last month”.
Prior to the incident, there had been speculation about the possibility of a ceasefire agreement between the PKK and the Turkish state – fueled by some seemingly conciliatory gestures.
On Tuesday, a close ally of Erdogan suggested that the PKK’s leader, Abdullah Ocalan, could be released from his life sentence in a Turkish prison if he publicly disbanded the organization – seen by some as a starting point for reconciliation.
The next day, Ocalan was permitted a visit from his nephew – the first family visit in 43 months – according to Reuters news agency.