Attackers set off explosives and opened fire Wednesday at Turkey’s state-run aerospace and defence company TUSAS, killing five people and wounding more than a dozen, the interior minister said. The two attackers — a man and a woman — also were killed, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
Turkish media say assailants arrived by taxi before setting off explosive device
The Associated Press
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Assailants set off explosives and opened fire in an attack Wednesday at Turkey’s state-run aerospace and defence company TUSAS, killing five people and wounding more than a dozen, the interior minister said.
The two attackers — a man and a woman — also were killed, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
“I condemn this heinous terrorist attack and wish mercy on our martyrs,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the sidelines of a BRICS meeting in Kazan, Russia.
Putin offered condolences. A U.S. Embassy statement said Washington “strongly condemns today’s terrorist attack.”
It was not clear who may be behind the attack. Kurdish militants, the Islamic State group and leftist extremists have carried out attacks in the country in the past.
TUSAS (Turkish Aerospace Industries) designs, manufactures and assembles both civilian and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and other defence industry and space systems. The UAVs have been instrumental in Turkey gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants in Turkey and across the border in Iraq.
WATCH | Explosion captured on camera in Ankara parking lot:
Explosion captured on camera in Ankara parking lot
An excerpt of a video from IHA, a Turkey-based broadcaster, shows an explosion in a parking lot in Ankara, reported to be the site of aerospace and defence company TUSAS.
Turkish media said the assailants arrived Wednesday at an entry to the TUSAS complex in a taxi. The assailants, carrying assault weapons, detonated an explosive device next to the taxi, causing panic and allowing them to enter.
The taxi driver was among the dead, according to HaberTurk television.
An unidentified TUSAS employee shouted: “We will work harder and produce more in defiance of the traitors” as he and other colleagues were being evacuated from the premises, according to a video aired by HaberTurk.
Security camera images, aired on television, showed a man in plainclothes carrying a backpack and holding an assault rifle.
The interior minister said security teams were dispatched as soon as the attack started at around 3:30 p.m. local time.
Multiple gunshots were heard after security forces entered the site, the DHA news agency and other media reported. Helicopters were seen flying above the premises.
Authorities issued a temporary blackout on the coverage of the attack and went on to throttle access to social media websites.
Turkish Vice-President Cevdet Yılmaz said the target of the attack was Turkey’s “success in the defence industry.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the terrorist attack, saying the United Nations “stands in solidarity” with the people and government of Turkey, according to UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also denounced the attack. “Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences go out to the families of the victims,” he said on X.