Turkiye strikes Kurdish militants sites after deadly Ankara attack
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Al Mayadeen's sources say Turkish aircraft and artillery targeted more than 30 locations across SDF-controlled areas, killing four people and injuring more than 20 others.
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Impact of Turkish airstrike on a PKK target in Iraq and Syria on October 23, 2024. (Social media)
Turkiye launched airstrikes on Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday, following an attack near Ankara that left five people dead at the headquarters of state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).
The government attributed the attack to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), stating it was "very likely" responsible for the attack, which also injured 22 others.
In response, Turkiye's Defense Ministry declared that air operations were swiftly executed against targets in northern Iraq and Syria just hours after the attack. The ministry reported that "a total of 32 terrorist targets were successfully destroyed," while emphasizing that operations were still ongoing.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was in Russia for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, described the Ankara incident as a "heinous" attack "targeting the survival of our country," in a message on X.
Türk savunma sanayisinin lokomotif kuruluşlarından olan TUSAŞ’a yönelik düzenlenen terör eylemi; ülkemizin bekasını, milletimizin huzurunu ve “Tam Bağımsız Türkiye” idealimizin timsali olan savunma atılımlarımızı hedef alan alçakça bir saldırıdır.
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) October 23, 2024
Terör eyleminin ilk anından…
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said three of the injured were in critical condition and that the two attackers, "a woman and a man", had been "neutralized".
There was no immediate claim for the attack but Yerlikaya said "the way in which this action was carried out is very probably linked to the PKK."
Turkiye's Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said four of the victims were TAI employees while the fifth was a taxi driver.
The attack elicited widespread condemnation both within Turkey and internationally, with Russian President Vladimir Putin expressing his "condolences in connection with the terror attack" at the outset of his meeting with President Erdogan.
Statements of condemnation and condolences for the victims' families also flooded in from Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Tehran, Washington, and NATO leadership.
SDF positions, Asayish forces targeted
Al Mayadeen's sources in Syria revealed that Turkish airstrikes hit key positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Asayish forces in the town of Karachok, located in the northern countryside of al-Hasakah province, northeastern Syria.
The sources further reported that a Turkish drone launched strikes on an Asayish checkpoint and headquarters in the heart of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), a strategic city in northwestern Syria, northeast of Aleppo.
In addition to the aerial assaults, heavy Turkish artillery bombardments targeted several villages in the countryside of Manbij, the sources mentioned.
Moreover, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that Turkish warplanes struck an SDF military position on Gulf Street in the center of Qamishli city, north of al-Hasakah.
He added that Turkish warplanes resumed airstrikes on positions held by Asayish forces, affiliated with the SDF, in the center of Qamishli city.
The airstrikes reportedly destroyed two key Asayish command centers located in the neighborhoods of Antariyah and Halko in Qamishli.
Our correspondent said a Turkish drone bombed an SDF site near the train station in the al-Seryan neighborhood of Qamishli.
Turkish warplanes also targeted an SDF military position in the town of Amuda in the northern countryside of al-Hasakah, according to Al Mayadeen's correspondent.
Turkey targets over 30 SDF locations: Al Mayadeen's sources
Al Mayadeen's sources reported that Turkish warplanes targeted several oil wells and facilities operated by the SDF in the rural areas of Qamishli, Rmelan, Qahtaniyah, and al-Malikiyah, in northern al-Hasakah.
Turkish aircraft and artillery targeted more than 30 locations across SDF-controlled areas, the sources indicated, adding that the strikes killed four people and injured more than 20 others, according to an initial toll.
The sources said that the targets also included SDF and Asayish positions, power stations, and grain storage centers, causing significant material damage.
Elsewhere, Al Mayadeen's sources said eight people were killed, and others were injured in a Turkish airstrike on an electricity power station in al-Suwaidiya, northern al-Hasakah.
