Hours after terror attack on defense firm, Turkey launches airstrikes on 30 targets in Iraq, Syria

By News Update On Oct 24, 2024

Turkish terrorist attack: Hours after a deadly terror attack on Turkish government aerospace and defense company TUSAS that killed five people and injured more than a dozen, Ankara has retaliated against Kurdish militant positions in Iraq and Syria. Türkiye's Defense Ministry has confirmed that its warplanes attacked and destroyed more than 30 targets in the airstrikes.

The attack follows an attack on Wednesday by suspected Kurdish militants who attacked Turkey's state-owned aerospace and defense company TUSAS with explosives and opened fire, killing five and wounding more than a dozen. The information was given by Home Minister Ali Yerlikaya. Two attackers, a man and a woman, were also killed in the incident.

Yerlikaya indicated that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was suspected to be behind the attack, but stressed that the process of identifying the attackers was still ongoing. Defense Minister Yasar Güler also blamed the PKK for the attack.

“We give these PKK scoundrels the punishment they deserve every time. But they never come to their senses…We will pursue them until the last terrorist is eliminated,” Gular said.

“I condemn this heinous terrorist attack,” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was attending the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin also expressed condolences. A statement from the US Embassy said Washington strongly condemns the terrorist attack.

What is TUSAS?

TUSAS specializes in the design, production and assembly of civil and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other defense and space systems. Its UAVs have played a key role in helping Turkey gain strategic advantages within its own borders and in its operations against Kurdish militants in neighboring Iraq.

How did the attack happen?

According to Turkish media reports, the attackers arrived at the TUSAS compound in a taxi on Wednesday. Armed with assault rifles, they detonated an explosive device near the vehicle, causing chaos, and managed to enter the facility. One of the victims was identified as Zahide Güçlü, a mechanical engineer, who had gone to the entrance to pick up flowers sent by her husband, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

According to the agency, the attackers also killed the taxi driver, whose body was later found in the trunk of the vehicle. Orhan Aktundar, brother of a TUSAS employee, was among the relatives waiting anxiously outside the compound for updates on their loved ones.

Background of the PKK–Türkiye conflict

The attack came a day after the leader of Turkey's right-wing nationalist party, which is aligned with President Erdogan, suggested the possibility of granting parole to the imprisoned PKK leader if he renounced violence and reorganized his organization. Dissolve it. Abdullah Ocalan's group is fighting for autonomy in south-eastern Turkey, a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives since the 1980s. Both Türkiye and its Western allies classify the PKK as a terrorist organization. The country's pro-Kurdish political party, which also condemned the attack, said it came at a time when the possibility of fresh talks to resolve the conflict had come up.