Turkey has launched airstrikes against suspected Kurdish militant positions in Syria and Iraq, following a deadly attack on the Turkish aerospace company Tusaş near Ankara. The strikes, carried out on Thursday, targeted locations linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and affiliated Syrian Kurdish militias, according to Turkey's National Intelligence Organization.
The operation used armed drones to hit military, intelligence, energy and infrastructure facilities, as well as ammunition depots. The Turkish defence ministry stated that more than 30 targets were destroyed. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported that the strikes killed 12 civilians, including two children, and wounded 25 others in northeastern Syria, also hitting bakeries, power stations and oil facilities.
The airstrikes came after two assailants attacked the Tusaş headquarters on Wednesday, killing four people before being shot dead. The attackers, a man and a woman, arrived in a commandeered taxi and used assault rifles and explosives. The PKK was blamed for the assault, though the group has not issued a statement. Tusaş is a key defence manufacturer, producing military and civilian aircraft and drones.
The attack occurred amid political developments, as a far-right nationalist party allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had floated the possibility of parole for imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan if he renounces violence. The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s and is designated a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.
