Terrorist attack in Türkiye left 5 dead and 22 injured: who is behind the attack?

Five people died and 22 were injured on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, andn a “terrorist attack” with explosives in front of the headquarters of Türkiye’s defense industriesnear Ankara, which the government attributed to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

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The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, denounced from the Russian city of Kazan, where he is participating as a guest at a Brics summit, an attack motivated by “hate.”

“No structure, no terrorist organization, no nefarious focus against our security will be able to achieve its objectives. Our fight against all terrorist threats will continue with determination“he added on the social network X.

The previous official toll was four deaths, but the Minister of the Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, raised it to five and pointed out that, due to its modality, “is most likely linked to the PKK“.

The Minister of Defense, Yasar Guler, supported this hypothesis and denounced those who “As always, they attempted to disturb the peace of our nation by carrying out a despicable and dishonorable attack“.

“We always give these PKK evildoers the punishment they deserve (…) We will not give up pursuing them until we eliminate the last terrorist and we will make them suffer for what they have done.“he added.

The PKK, classified as “terrorist” by Türkiye and its Western allies, including the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish army since 1984.

What was the attack in Türkiye like?

The operation, which took place in mid-afternoon about forty kilometers from Ankara, the capital, targeted the headquarters of the Turkish defense industries.

The private television network NTV said that It was a suicide attack and indicated that a “group of terrorists” had broken into the building and one of them “detonated” himself.. After the explosion there was a shootout for more than an hour, according to local media.

The Sabah newspaper published on its X account a photo taken from the surveillance cameras at the entrance of the building, showing a young man dressed in black, carrying a backpack and apparently armed with an assault rifle, whom he describes as “one of the terrorists attacking #TAI.”

Television images showed large flames and white smoke in front of the entrance to the site.

Solidarity with Türkiye

The secretary general of NATO, a military alliance of which Turkey is a part, claimed to have contacted Erdogan by telephone to express his support after this “terrorist attack.”

“My message was very clear: NATO is with Türkiye“added Mark Rutte in X.

Erdogan received direct support from Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he met in Kazan. “We condemn any action of this type, whatever its motivations.“, Putin declared when receiving the Turkish president.

A major defense and aerospace industry fair is taking place this week in Istanbul, with the presence of the President of Defense Industries, attended by, among others, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andri Sibiga.

Turkey’s defense sector, known for its famous Bayraktar drones, It represents close to 80% of the country’s export income, with a turnover of $10.2 billion in 2023.

The last attack recorded in Türkiye, in a church in istanbul In January, it left one dead and was claimed by the Islamic State group.

Before that, the PKK, in armed struggle against the government, had carried out an attack on a police station in Ankara in October 2023, which left two attackers dead and two police officers injured.

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