Türkiye strikes Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria following defence company attack

Türkiye’s air force has struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria in an apparent retaliation for an attack at a key state-run defence company that killed five people and wounded 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 harm 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.

Yerlikaya said the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, was believed to be behind the attack at the defence company.

His comments were echoed by as Defence Minister Yasar Guler, who said "we will pursue them until the last terrorist is eliminated.”

UAVs instrumental in fight against Kurdish militants targeted

Türkiye 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.

"I condemn this heinous terrorist attack,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a BRICS meeting in Russia.

TUSAS designs, manufactures and assembles civilian and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and other defence industry and space systems. Its UAVs have been instrumental in Türkiye gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants.

The attack occurred a day after the leader of Türkiye’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 organisation.

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

Turkish media said the assailants arrived Wednesday at an entry to the TUSAS complex in a taxi.

One of the victims was identified as mechanical engineer Zahide Guclu, who had gone to the entrance to collect flowers sent by her husband, the state-run Anadolu Agency.

The taxi driver was also killed by the assailants and his body was found in the trunk of the vehicle, the agency reported.

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 3:30pm.

Widespread condemnation

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.

Authorities issued a temporary blackout on the coverage of the attack and went on to throttle access to social media websites.

Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said the target of the attack was Türkiye'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 UN Secretary-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.