A banned Kurdish militant group claimed responsibility for an attack on the headquarters of a defense company in Ankara, resulting in five deaths. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) carried out the attack in response to Turkish actions in Kurdish regions. The attackers, a man and a woman, set off explosives and opened fire, killing four employees before being killed in a subsequent battle with security teams. Over 20 people were injured in the attack.
Turkey blamed the PKK for the attack and launched aerial strikes on suspected locations in northern Iraq and northern Syria. Despite signs of potential dialogue to end the conflict with the PKK, including the possibility of the group’s leader being granted parole if violence is renounced, the PKK’s military wing stated that the attack was planned before these developments.
The defense company targeted, TUSAS, was chosen as a target because weapons produced there had killed civilians in Kurdistan. TUSAS produces civilian and military aircraft, UAVs, and other defense systems crucial to Turkey’s fight against Kurdish militants. Turkish warplanes intensified airstrikes on PKK sites in northern Iraq’s Sinjar district, resulting in civilian casualties.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces reported civilian deaths and injuries due to Turkish airstrikes in Syria. Meanwhile, police in Istanbul detained 35 individuals with suspected PKK ties. The PKK has been involved in a decades-long conflict with Turkey, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
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