Turkey strikes targets in Iraq, Syria, hours after deadly attack on state-run defence company

Turkey's air force struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday in an apparent retaliation for an attack at a key state-run defence company thatkilledfive people and wounding more than 20 others.

The defence ministry said more than 30 targets were "destroyed" in the aerial offensive, without providing details on the locations that were hit. It said "all kinds of precautions" were taken to prevent harms to civilians.

The strike came hours after suspected Kurdish militants set off explosives and opened fire at the aerospace and defence company TUSAS.The two attackers a man and a woman also were killed, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.At least 22 people, including seven security personnel, were injured during the attack.

Yerlikaya said the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, was believed to be behind the attack at the defence company. TurkishDefence Minister Yasar Guler also pointed the finger at the PKK.

Turkey regularly conducts airstrikes against the PKK which has a foothold in Iraq and against a Kurdish militia group in Syria that is affiliated with the militants.

There was no immediate statement from the PKK.

The Islamic State group and leftist extremists have also carried out past attacks in Turkey.

Turkish leader condemns attack

"I condemn this heinous terrorist attack and wish mercy on our martyrs,"Turkish President Recep TayyipErdogan 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."

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

23 days ago

Duration 0:14

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.

The attack occurred a day after the leader of Turkey's far-right nationalist party that's allied with Erdogan raised the possibility that the PKK's imprisoned leader could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands his organization.

Abdullah Ocalan's group has been fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people since the 1980s. It is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.

The country's pro-Kurdish political party, which also condemned the TUSAS attack, noted that it had occurred at a time when the possibility of a dialogue to end the conflict had emerged.

Assailants arrived via taxi: media

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.

Orhan Akdundar, a brother of one the TUSAS employees, was among relatives waiting outside the complex for news of their loved ones.

"I called my brother who was inside and said, 'What happened?' He said a bomb had exploded and said that gunshots continued for a very long time," Akdundar said.

"There was a huge commotion. The gendarmerie, special forces and other security forces were all here. There were lots of ambulances. Then the phones shut off and I wasn't able to establish communication."

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.

Temporary news blackout

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 Ylmaz said the target of the attack was Turkey's "success in the defence industry."

The Iraqi embassy in Ankara issued a statement condemning the attack. It said the embassy "affirms Iraq's firm position in rejecting terrorism and extremism in all its forms and manifestations, and expresses the solidarity of Iraq's government and people, with the government and people of the Republic of Turkey." Earlier this year, Iraq announced a ban on the PKK.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and UNSecretary-General Antonio Guterres both expressed their solidarity with Turkey.

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.