Attack kills 4, injures 14 at Turkish defense firm
4 Min Read
While no group has claimed responsibility yet, Turkiye's justice minister confirmed that an investigation is underway.
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Smoke rises as emergency rescue teams and police officers gather outside Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. on the outskirts of Ankara, Turkiye on October 23, 2024. (AP)
Four people were killed and 14 others injured on Wednesday in an attack on the headquarters of a prominent Turkish defense company near Ankara, according to Turkish officials.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was in Russia for a BRICS summit, swiftly condemned the incident as a "heinous terrorist attack" on state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).
"This vile attack on TAI, a key player in our defense industry, targets the very survival of our nation," he stated on X. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya reported that three of the injured are in critical condition and that the two attackers—a woman and a man—have been "neutralized."
Efforts are ongoing to identify the perpetrators of the attack. Footage showed large clouds of smoke and a significant fire at the scene in Kahramankazan, a small town north of Ankara. While no group has claimed responsibility yet, the justice minister confirmed that an investigation is underway.
According to an unsubstantiated account from private TV channel NTV, a "group of terrorists" broke into the building, one of whom "blew himself up," while other media sites reported exchanges of fire lasting more than an hour.
Haberturk TV reported a hostage situation, while another media source stated that numerous hostages were freed.
There was no immediate response from Turkish officials, who promptly implemented a blackout on live pictures from the location. The Sabah Daily released what it claimed was a CCTV image showing the entry of a young man wearing black, carrying a backpack and what seemed to be an assault rifle. Officials first reported three deaths but then upped it to four.
According to Haberturk, the last victim was a cab driver killed before they seized his vehicle.
TAI, one of Turkiye's leading defense enterprises and a significant armaments maker, employs 15,500 people and has a massive industrial facility spanning five million square metres, according to its website.
Foreign leaders offer condolences
The incident was condemned across Turkey and abroad, with Putin extending Erdogan his "condolences in connection with the terror attack" at the outset of their meeting.
The two were meeting in the Russian city of Kazan on the fringes of the BRICS conference of key developing market nations, which includes Brazil.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also expressed support for Turkiye after a phone chat with Erdogan, saying the alliance "stands with Turkiye," as he posted on X.
Brussels, Berlin, and the US and French embassies in Turkiye also released statements of disapproval and sympathy to the victims' families. Back home, Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel, who leads the CHP party, issued a statement condemning the incident and stating that he "condemns terrorism, no matter who or where it comes from".
The largest pro-Kurdish DEM party also denounced the incident, saying it was "noteworthy that the attack took place just as Turkish society was talking about a solution and the possibility of dialogue" with Kurdish PKK rebels.
The chairman of the far-right MHP, which is part of Erdogan's ruling coalition, has asked jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to speak in parliament to declare the breakup of his movement. The PKK has maintained an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, killing tens of thousands of people, and Ocalan has been detained in solitary confinement on a prison island since 1999.
Turkiye's defense sector, known for its Bayraktar drones, contributes to almost 80% of the country's export profits.
The last such incident in Turkiye occurred in January, when gunmen opened fire inside a Catholic church in Istanbul, killing one person in an assault claimed by ISIS.
