At least 5 people died in the attack on the Turkish airline company

At least five people were killed and 22 injured in an attack at the headquarters of an aviation company near the Turkish capital Ankara, authorities confirmed.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said two attackers, a woman and a man, had been “neutralized”, adding that the attack most likely involved the Kurdish rebel group PKK.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Türkiye’s Defense Ministry announced late Wednesday that airstrikes had been carried out against Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq and northern Syria.

Various videos of the earlier attack on Wednesday showed at least two people opening fire around the entrance of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the capital. .

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said four of the victims were TAI employees while the fifth was a taxi driver.

Local media previously reported that the attackers killed the taxi driver before taking his car to carry out the attack.

They said the explosion occurred around shift change time and staff had to be directed to take shelter.

Yerlikaya also confirmed that seven special forces members were among the 22 injured in the attack.

The PKK is banned as a terrorist organization in Türkiye, the US and the UK, and has fought against the Turkish state since the 1980s for greater rights for its significant Kurdish minority. of the country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who is in Russia attending the Brics summit – condemned what he called a “cowardly terrorist attack” during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in The speech was broadcast live on TV.

He later posted a lengthy statement on X, saying that security forces acted quickly to neutralize the threat and that “there is no terrorist organization, no evil target on our security can achieve their goals”.

Turkish authorities have banned media from providing details about the attack, and users in large areas of the country have reported being unable to use social media sites such as YouTube, Instagram , Facebook and X.

Chairman of the Supreme Council of Turkish Radio and Television, Ebubekir Sahin, warned that all images related to the incident should be deleted from social networks and urged users not to share images that “will serve terrorist purposes”.

TAI is a key player in Türkiye’s aerospace industry, designing, developing and manufacturing a variety of aircraft for commercial and military use.

This is a company designated by NATO members as a licensed manufacturer for US-designed F-16 fighter aircraft. TAI also plays a role in modernizing old aircraft for use by the Turkish military.

The company’s two main owners are the Turkish Armed Forces and a civilian agency of the Turkish government responsible for improving defense capabilities and managing military procurement.

The explosion occurred just as a major trade fair for the defense and aerospace industry was taking place in Istanbul this week.