Turkey has carried out airstrikes against suspected Kurdish militant targets in Syria and Iraq, following a deadly attack on the Turkish aerospace company Tusaş near Ankara that killed five people. The Turkish government blamed the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) for the assault.
Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization stated it targeted numerous strategic locations used by the PKK or affiliated Syrian Kurdish militia, including military, intelligence, energy, and infrastructure facilities, as well as ammunition depots. Armed drones were used in the strikes, according to a security official.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported that Turkish airstrikes killed 12 civilians, including two children, and wounded 25 others in north-east Syria. The SDF said strikes hit populated areas, bakeries, power stations, oil facilities, and checkpoints, alongside Turkish shelling.
The attack on Tusaş occurred when two assailants, a man and a woman, arrived at the headquarters in a commandeered taxi. Armed with assault rifles, they set off explosives and opened fire, killing four people, including a security personnel member and a mechanical engineer. The assailants were also killed, and over 20 people were injured.
Tusaş designs, manufactures, and assembles civilian and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other defence systems. Its systems have been credited with helping Turkey gain an advantage in its fight against Kurdish militants. The attack came a day after a far-right nationalist party allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suggested the possibility of parole for imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan if he renounces violence.
