At least five dead in attack on Turkish airline

At least five people were killed and 22 injured in an attack on the headquarters of an airline near the Turkish capital Ankara, authorities said.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said two attackers, a woman and a man, had been “neutralized,” adding that the attack most likely involved Kurdish separatists, the PKK.

Initial images from television channel NTV showed a large cloud of smoke outside the entrance to Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), which is about 40 km (25 miles) outside the capital.

No group has said it carried out the attack.

It is also unclear how many people were involved in the attack and whether other suspects need to be arrested.

Local media reported that the explosion occurred around the time of a shift change and staff had to be sent to emergency shelters.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in Russia for the Brics summit, commented on this.

“I condemn this heinous terrorist attack and wish God's mercy on our martyrs,” he said in a live-televised speech during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He later released a detailed statement

Turkish authorities have imposed a media blackout on details of the attack and users across much of the country have reported being unable to use social media sites such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X.

President of Turkey's Supreme Council of Radio and Television, Ebubekir Sahin, has warned that all images related to the incident should be removed from social media and urged users not to share images that “serve the purpose of the incident.” serving terrorism.”

TAI is a major player in the Turkish aerospace industry and designs, develops and manufactures various aircraft for commercial and military purposes.

It is the company that was appointed by the NATO member as the licensed manufacturer of the F-16 fighter jets developed in the USA. TAI also plays a role in modernizing older aircraft for use by the Turkish military.

The company's two main owners are the Turkish Armed Forces and a civilian arm of the Turkish government tasked with improving its defense capabilities and managing military procurement.

The explosion occurred as a major defense and aerospace industry trade fair was taking place in Istanbul this week.

Turkey is no stranger to attacks branded as terrorism.

In the past, Kurdish separatists have been largely blamed, as was the case with Wednesday's attack. Their camps in northern Syria and elsewhere in the region have been repeatedly attacked by the Turkish air force.

But the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) is also present in Turkey, and then there is the question of the Turkish aerospace industry, which produces drones that have changed the entire course of a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In the early stages of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it widely used Turkish-made Bayraktar drones to attack Russian tanks before Ukraine began mass-producing its own drones.

The crucial question now, as the investigation into this attack begins, is who would benefit and why?