A massive explosion outside the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) near Ankara has left several people “dead and injured”, Turkey’s interior minister said on Wednesday, calling it a “terrorist attack”.
Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X, “A terrorist attack was carried out against Turkish Aerospace Industries… Unfortunately, we have martyrs and injured people.”
Local media broadcast footage showing clouds of smoke and large fires at the scene in Kahramankazan, a small town about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Ankara.
Haberturk TV said there was a “hostage situation” going on, without giving further details, while private NTV television said gunfire followed the explosion, which occurred around 4:00 pm (1300 GMT).
YENİ BILGİ-1
Turk Havcilik and Uzay Sanayi A.S. (TUSAS) Ankara Kahramankazan Tessilerin Yonelik Terror Saldirisinda 2 Terrist Atkisiz Hale Getirilmistir.
Saldrida Malesafe 3 Weeks, 14 Years Edition.
Şehitlerimije Allah’tan Rahmat; Yaralilarimiza acyl siflar diliorum….
– Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) 23 October 2024
There was no immediate claim for the attack but the Justice Minister said an investigation had been launched.
Ankara’n Kahramankazan Ilkesinde Bulunan Türk Havilik ve Uzay Sanayi Tessilerin Düzenlenen Terror Saldirizin Siddetle Kinnoyar ve Lanetaliorum.
Han Teror Soldirsila Ilgili Ankara Cumhuriyet Basavesilig Tarafindan Edli Sorosturma Basalatilmis Olup, 1 Basavecivekli and 8…
– Yilmaz Tunc (@yilmaztunc) 23 October 2024
NTV spoke of the suicide attack, saying that “a group of terrorists” had broken into TAI’s headquarters and one of them blew himself up.
Images shown by Haberturk showed that one of the attackers was a woman, while Sabah newspaper published a CCTV image from cameras installed at the entrance of the building, showing a young man with a mustache dressed in black carrying a rucksack and a Appeared to be an assault rifle.
The attack was condemned by Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu as well as opposition leader Ozgur Özel, who heads the CHP.
Ozel wrote on Twitter, “I condemn the terrorist attack against TAI facilities in Kahramankazan… I condemn terrorism, no matter who it is or where it comes from.”
According to TAI’s website, the state-run company, which is also a major arms manufacturer, employs 15,500 people and has a huge production site covering an area of five million square metres.
Erdogan in Russia
The blast occurred while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in the Russian city of Kazan for the BRICS summit of major emerging market countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Erdogan will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin later on Wednesday.
The Turkish city of Istanbul is currently hosting a major trade fair for the defense and aerospace industries, which Ukraine’s top diplomat visited this week.
Türkiye’s defense sector, best known for its Bayraktar drones, accounts for about 80 percent of the country’s export revenue.
According to Haluk Gorgun, head of Turkey’s State Defense Industry Agency (SSB), contracts worth $10.2 billion were signed last year.
Gorgun said defense export revenues reached $3.7 billion in the first eight months of this year, up nearly 10 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The last attack in Turkey occurred in January when two gunmen opened fire inside a Catholic church in Istanbul, killing a man.
Responsibility for that attack was claimed by jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group.
In October 2023, two policemen were injured in an attack in the government district of Ankara.
Police killed one attacker while another died in an apparent suicide bombing outside the Interior Ministry.
Responsibility for that attack was claimed by the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and has claimed thousands of lives in the conflict.
