Attack on aerospace company near Turkey’s Ankara: What we know | Conflict messages

One of the main drivers of Turkey’s defense industry was the target of a deadly attack on Wednesday afternoon.

At least five people were killed and 22 injured in the attack on Turkey’s state-owned Aerospace Industry (TUSAS). The attack came a day after an unprecedented statement by a Turkish nationalist leader about the possibility of a renewed peace process with the country’s banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The group – considered a “terrorist” group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union – has been fighting the Turkish state for 40 years. The timing of Wednesday’s attack has observers suggesting the PKK may be signaling that it is not ready to lay down its arms.

Here’s what you should know about the incident and who might be involved.

What happened in Turkey and when?

Gunshots and explosions were reported at the state-run TUSAS headquarters at around 4pm (1300 GMT) on Wednesday.

Footage from the scene of the accident broadcast by local media initially showed huge clouds of smoke and a large fire as rescue workers rushed to the scene.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed the attack in a post on X. “A terrorist attack was carried out against the Kahramankazan facilities of the Turkish aerospace industry in Ankara,” he wrote.

Security footage shows three people in a yellow taxi arriving at one of the site’s entrances. One of the attackers enters the building amid gunfire. Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu reported from Ankara that an explosion occurred next to a security booth, possibly injuring security personnel.

Witnesses said the attackers were familiar with the building’s layout and that the explosions may have occurred at various exits as employees were leaving work. They added that authorities moved employees inside the building to shelters and no one was allowed to leave the building for several hours.

“Many experts now suspect that it was a strategically planned terrorist attack,” said Koseoglu. Some media reports claimed it was a suicide attack.

Where did it happen?

The attack occurred at TUSAS headquarters in Kahramankasan.

Kahramankazan is an area north of the Turkish capital Ankara.

Who was behind it?

Surveillance camera images of the incident broadcast on television showed a man in civilian clothes carrying a backpack and holding an assault rifle, and a woman also carrying an assault rifle. Yerlikaya, Turkey’s interior minister, confirmed that one of the attackers was a woman.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Güler claimed the PKK carried out the attack. So far, no group has claimed responsibility.

According to Koseoglu, the far-left Turkish Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) is also on the radar.

A peace process between Turkey and the PKK collapsed in 2015, and the group and its allies carried out a series of attacks in subsequent years as the Turkish military and security forces carried out operations against the PKK in southeastern Turkey, Iraq and Syria.

The number of attacks in major Turkish cities has fallen sharply since 2017.

And in an unprecedented statement on Tuesday, Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement and an ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, suggested that jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan – who has been imprisoned since 1999 – could be allowed to speak in parliament if he breaks off the uprising and dissolves his organization – a sign of a possible revival of the peace process.

But experts say Wednesday’s attack could be a signal that the PKK is unwilling to lay down its arms and normalize relations with the government.

“This is more of a message that the Turkish defense industry can be targeted and harmed,” said Omer Ozkizilcik, non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East program. “Turkish drones are fundamentally changing Turkey’s counterterrorism efforts. Therefore, the targeted fight has great symbolic meaning.”

What do we know about the victims?

• At least five people were killed and at least 22 were injured.
• Those killed were Cengiz Coskun, a quality control officer at the company, mechanical engineer Zahide Guclu, TUSAS employee Hasan Huseyin Canbaz, security guard Atakan Sahin Erdogan and taxi driver Murat Arslan.
• When the attack occurred, Guclu was on her way to the entrance of the compound to receive flowers sent to her by her husband.
• Arslan was killed by the attackers after they got into his vehicle at a taxi station. They then hid his body in the trunk of his taxi.

Is the area safe now?

Yerlikaya said in a post on X on Wednesday that “two terrorists have been neutralized.”

Special forces were deployed to the area while drones combed the area.

What’s the latest locally?

In the hours after the attack, people lined up outside the site to get more information about the relatives who worked there. According to Koseoglu, around 7,500 personnel were on site during the attack.

All security forces in the country are on alert and Türkiye’s Attorney General’s Office has opened a judicial investigation into the attack.

What do we know about TUSAS?

Founded in 1973, TUSAS developed the country’s first indigenous fighter jet, Kaan, as well as a range of drones, satellites and helicopters for civil and military use.

In addition, Turkish intelligence and the military have carried out cross-border operations against PKK members in northern Syria and Iraq using drones manufactured by TUSAS, according to Al Jazeera’s Koseoglu.

The company is jointly owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation and the government and employs around 15,000 people.

An international defense, aerospace industry exhibition was also held in Istanbul, attended this week by top Ukrainian diplomats and Turkish military officials. Just a few hours before the attack, Yerlikaya published pictures from his visit to the trade fair.

What was the reaction?

Erdogan, who is currently attending the BRICS conference in the Russian city of Kazan, called the incident a “heinous terrorist attack.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte condemned the attack and said he had spoken to Erodgan while promising that the military alliance would stand by its ally, Turkey. The European Union delegation to Turkey also condemned the attack, while Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences.

And US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms”, adding: “Our prayers go out to all those affected and their families and of course to the Turkish people at this very difficult time.”