News EditorAt least five people were killed and 22 others injured in an attack on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), located near Ankara, Turkish authorities confirmed. The attack, suspected to have been carried out by Kurdish militants from the PKK, occurred around the time of a shift change at the facility, 40 km (25 miles) from the Turkish capital.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated that two attackers, a man and a woman, were “neutralised” by security forces. While no group has officially claimed responsibility for the assault, Yerlikaya indicated that early evidence points to the involvement of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US, and the UK.
Footage shared on social media, later restricted by Turkish authorities, shows at least two gunmen firing outside the TAI complex. The attackers reportedly hijacked a taxi and killed the driver before launching their assault. The victims include four TAI employees and the taxi driver.
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz confirmed that among the injured were seven members of the country’s special operations forces. He added that the swift response of security personnel prevented further casualties.
The blast at TAI coincided with a major defence and aerospace industry trade fair in Istanbul, highlighting the facility’s significance. TAI is central to Turkey’s military and commercial aviation efforts, producing and modernising aircraft, including the US-designed F-16 fighter jets for the Turkish Armed Forces.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is in Russia attending the BRICS summit, condemned the attack during a live broadcast of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He later reaffirmed Turkey’s commitment to combating terrorism in a statement on social media, vowing that no terrorist group will achieve its goals.
In the aftermath of the attack, Turkish authorities imposed a media blackout and restricted access to social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X across large parts of the country. Ebubekir Şahin, president of Turkey’s Radio and TV Supreme Council, called on the public to refrain from sharing images of the attack, urging citizens to avoid aiding the attackers’ objectives.
The attack marks a significant escalation in tensions between the Turkish government and the PKK, which has been engaged in a decades-long conflict with the Turkish state
