By Summary:
- Turkish strikes follow attack in Ankara blamed on PKK.
- Turkey regularly targets PKK militants with fighter jets and combat drones.
- Syrian Kurdish group says Turkish strikes killed 12 civilians.
- Wednesday’s attack hit key installation of defense industry.
- Jailed PKK leader claims he has the power to stop the fighting.
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey launched fresh air strikes on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Syria and Iraq overnight, killing 59 militants, in response to a gun attack that killed five people in Ankara, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
Two assailants – a man and a woman – carried out Wednesday’s assault with automatic rifles and explosives on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) in Ankara. Twenty-two people were also wounded. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, during which both militants were killed. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the male attacker was confirmed to be a PKK member, while the female assailant had not yet been identified.
A view shows smoke rising after explosions among buildings in Tal Rifaat, Aleppo Governorate, Syria in this screen grab from a CCTV footage obtained from a social media video released on October 24, 2024. Social Media/via REUTERS.
In response, Turkish forces struck 29 PKK targets in northern Iraq and 18 in northern Syria, according to Defense Minister Yasar Guler. Later, his ministry said 59 militants, including two believed to be “high level”, were “neutralized”, a term usually used to mean killed.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Thursday that the Turkish strikes in northern and eastern Syria had killed 12 civilians, including two children, and wounded 25 people.
The SDF, led by the Kurdish YPG and including Arab fighters, has been a major partner in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. The group controls about a quarter of Syria, including regions with oil fields, and areas where some 900 U.S. troops are deployed.
Turkey says the YPG is a terrorist organization that is closely tied to the PKK. The Turkish defense ministry said every precaution was taken to avoid harming innocent civilians.
“No member of the treacherous terrorist organization will be able to escape the grasp of Turkish soldiers,” Defense Minister Yasar Guler said in a memorial ceremony at a defense industry fair in Istanbul.
A view shows explosion among buildings in Tal Rifaat, Aleppo Governorate, Syria in this screen grab from a CCTV footage obtained from a social media video released on October 24, 2024. Social Media/via REUTERS.
“It is not a coincidence that this site was targeted,” he added, referring to TUSAS. Turkey regularly targets the PKK in Iraq and Syria with fighter jets and drones and TUSAS is Turkey’s largest aerospace manufacturer, producing drones, helicopters, training craft and developing the country’s first indigenous fighter jet, KAAN.
After the attack, security was tightened at TUSAS headquarters on Thursday, with security forces searching vehicles and checking people’s identities, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported. Also, the alert level was raised to “orange” at Turkish airports as part of increased security measures, an aviation sector source told news agencies.
CCTV footage verified and geolocated by CNN shows the attackers approaching the entrance of the aerospace site where a fatal terror attack took place on Wednesday, October 23.
EYES ON PKK LEADER
President Tayyip Erdogan, speaking alongside Russia’s Vladimir Putin at a BRICS conference in the Russian city of Kazan, condemned the attack. NATO, the United States, and the European Union, all of which designate the PKK as a terrorist organization, also condemned the violence.
“This cowardly attack has further strengthened Turkey’s determination to eliminate terrorism,” Erdogan said at the summit on Thursday.
Wednesday’s attack came a day after a key ally of Erdogan said the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan may be allowed to speak in Turkey’s parliament, if he announces an end to the group’s insurgency, in exchange for the possibility of being released.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli made the surprise suggestion following media speculation in recent weeks about fresh efforts to end the PKK insurgency, in which more than 40,000 people have been killed.
Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said members of the PKK were “likely” responsible for an attack at the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. | Necati Savas/EPA
The PKK took up arms 40 years ago with the initial aim of creating an independent Kurdish state. It subsequently moderated its goals to seeking greater Kurdish rights and limited autonomy in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey.
It was not immediately clear whether Wednesday’s attack would affect Bahçeli’s offer or whether it was intended to derail any such move.
Ocalan’s nephew, Omer Ocalan, said he visited the PKK leader on Wednesday in the island prison south of Istanbul where he has been held since his capture in 1999. It was the first such visit in around four years.
“If the conditions are right, I have the theoretical and practical power to move this process from a foundation of conflict and violence to legal and political ground,” Omer Ocalan quoted his uncle on X as saying.
Ambulances wait in line outside of Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. at the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.
