Turkiye launches air strikes in Iraq and Syria after deadly attack on aerospace facility

Turkiye has conducted extensive air strikes against Kurdish targets in northern Iraq and Syria, following what officials described as a terrorist attack on a state aerospace facility that killed five people and wounded nearly two dozen others.

The Turkish defence ministry reported striking 32 targets associated with the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) and “other terrorist elements” late on Wednesday. The military operation is said to have targeted PKK military and intelligence facilities, ammunition depots and strategic sites linked to the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Syria-based Kurdish militia.

The retaliatory strikes came after assailants attacked the Turkish Aerospace Industries’ (TAI) sprawling industrial campus near Ankara with bombs and gunfire. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya is reported by the Financial Times as saying that the attack was “very likely” the work of the PKK, which is designated as a terrorist group by the US and EU, as well as Turkiye. Two attackers were “neutralised” following the attack on the TAI facility.

READ: Iraq bans PKK, labelling it a threat to the country

Speaking about the incident on the TAI facilities from the BRICS summit in Russia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned what he called a “heinous terrorist attack” and offered prayers for the victims.

The TAI facility, which spans 4 million square metres in Kahramankazan, is a crucial part of Turkiye’s defence sector, producing aircraft, helicopters, drones and satellites.

The attack in Turkiye prompted international condemnation, with Russian President Vladimir Putin expressing condolences during the meeting with Erdogan. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also conveyed solidarity with member-state Turkiye in a conversation with the Turkish president.

The attack comes amid Turkiye’s ongoing four-decade conflict with the PKK and follows a similar incident last year when suicide bombers struck a government building in Ankara in an attack attributed to the Kurdish separatist group.

READ: Turkiye ‘neutralises’ senior PKK terrorist in northern Syria

Last month Turkish intelligence eliminated a leading Kurdish militant in Iraq who was reportedly responsible for training members over the decades.