On Wednesday, four people were killed and 14 more injured in an apparent terrorist attack on Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), a major state-run defense company headquartered near the capital Ankara.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Erikaya said The two attackers, “a woman and a man”, were “neutralized”. He did not say whether there were other suspects in the plot.
The attack occurred in Kahraman Kazan, a small municipality northwest of Ankara. Witnesses reported hearing explosions and gunshots near the TAI facility. Local media showed footage of clouds of smoke rising from the fire near the building until Turkey's censorship board ordered a complete blackout of footage from the scene. Outside observers said a large-scale internet shutdown was also implemented after the attack.
One Turkish television station reported that a “hostage situation” was underway at the TAI facility, but this had not been confirmed by other sources as of Wednesday afternoon.
Another television broadcast showed surveillance camera footage of the attack, showing a man and woman in civilian clothes carrying rifles. Al Jazeera News reviewed He released the images and said he believed there were at least three attackers.
“Apparently the attackers had information about the building and its entrances. Many experts now suggest that this was a strategically planned terrorist attack,” Al Jazeera reporter Sinem said. Koceoglu said.
TAI, also known by the Turkish acronym TUSAS, is one of Türkiye's largest defense contractors and aviation companies. One of the products is TF-X KhanTürkiye's first domestically produced modern fighter jet, developed as a successor to the US-made F-16.
Terrorist attack in Kahraman Kazan may have been timed to coincide with two major defense and aerospace events trade fair Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ongoing in Istanbul visit to Russia This was to meet with President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the BRICS Summit.
Although Erdogan ostensibly flew to Russia to discuss power plant construction and gas hubs with Putin, he also want Turkey aims to join the China-led BRICS economic bloc while maintaining its membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). BRICS has begun expand Countries beyond the core five began to look more attractive to Erdogan last year as his efforts to join the European Union stalled.
“I condemn this heinous attack on the facilities of the Turkish aerospace industry. We have four martyrs and 14 injured,” Erdogan said. said From Russia on Wednesday.
Erdogan's Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz called the attack “heinous” and his Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan vowed to continue fighting “all domestic and foreign terrorist elements and the forces that support them.”
“We will continue to strengthen our national defense capabilities and will never allow those targeting Turkiye and their proxies to achieve their ambitions for our country,” Fidan said.
These and other comments by Turkish officials suggest that the Kurdish separatist group PKK was behind the attack. On Tuesday, Debret Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), an ally of President Erdoğan, said: proposed Imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan could be released on parole if he “unilaterally declares that terrorism is over and the organization has been disbanded.''
Öcalan has been held in an isolated cell on an island near Istanbul since 1999. It takes strict attitude The campaign against the PKK appears to be part of Erdogan's bid to win support from the powerful pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party for Equality (DEM) in order to amend the constitution so he can be re-elected in the next election.
This support package may not have gone down well with the PKK's hardcore factions, and there is no motive for a major terrorist attack that could make it politically impossible for Erdoğan to offer Mr. Öcalan an amnesty deal. gave them.
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler openly proposed The PKK may have carried out the attack at Wednesday's press conference.
“We punish disgraced PKK members over and over again as they deserve, but they never seem to learn,” he mused.
