Turkey has launched airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militant targets in Syria and Iraq for the second day in a row, following an attack on a defense company‘s premises that left at least five people dead.
The National Intelligence Organisation targeted strategic locations used by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Syrian Kurdish militia linked to them, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.
The targets included military, intelligence, energy, infrastructure facilities, and ammunition depots. A security official confirmed the use of armed drones in Thursday’s strikes.
On Wednesday, Turkey’s air force destroyed more than 30 targets in northern Syria and Iraq shortly after officials blamed the PKK for a deadly attack at the headquarters of TUSAS, an aerospace and defense company.
The attackers, a man and a woman, commandeered a taxi after killing its driver and reached TUSAS’s premises on the outskirts of Ankara. Armed with assault rifles, they set off explosives and opened fire, resulting in four deaths, including a security personnel and a mechanical engineer. Over 20 people were injured. Security teams responded quickly, and the two assailants were killed during the incident.
No immediate statements were made by the PKK regarding the attack or the Turkish airstrikes.
TUSAS is known for designing and manufacturing civilian and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other defense and space systems, playing a significant role in Turkey’s fight against Kurdish militants.
The attack took place one day after the leader of Turkey’s far-right nationalist party, allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, suggested that the PKK’s imprisoned leader could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands the group.
Abdullah Ocalan’s group has been seeking autonomy in southeast Turkey, causing a conflict that has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths since the 1980s. Turkey and its Western allies classify the PKK as a terrorist organization.
