kurdistan-workers-party-pkk-behind-ankara-attack-turkey – Newsweek

A recent attack on the headquarters of a leading defense company in the Turkish capital Ankara has… Kurdistan Workers’ Partyor PKK, back in focus.

The forbidden Kurdish militant group claimed responsibility on Friday for a deadly attack in Ankara killing at least five people and injuring more than twenty at the premises of the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS).

A pair of police officers, described as members of the PKK’s ‘Immortal Battalion’, attacked the area, killing five people and wounding more than 20, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

The two attackers, a man and a woman, commandeered a taxi to reach the TUSAS complex, where they detonated it. explosives and involved security forces.

The woman reportedly committed suicide with an explosive device after sustaining injuries, while the man threw hand grenades before detonating them in a nearby building, Yerlikaya said.

Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoganwho later spoke at a defense industry event in Istanbul, condemned the attackers as “thugs” and said: “We will continue to crush those who think that with such treachery they can force us to step back.”

What is the PKK and why is there fighting in Turkey?

Turkey has been in conflict with the PKK since 1984, when the group launched an armed uprising seeking greater autonomy and rights for Kurds in the country’s southeast. Turkey.

Designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the United States European UnionThe group claims the latest attack was in response to “massacres” by Turkish forces in Kurdish regions.

The target, TUSAS, is an important part of Turkey’s defense industry, produces military and civilian aircraft and drones, which have been crucial in the country’s operations against the Kurdish forces.

In a statement after the attack, the PKK accused TUSAS of manufacturing weapons that “have killed thousands of civilians, including children and women, in Kurdistan.”

Turkey’s list of counterattack targets

Turkey quickly retaliated with one wave of air raids at PKK-affiliated locations in northern Iraq, including tunnels, bases and warehouses, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu Agency.

Citing Turkish defense officials, the agency reported that 34 PKK-related targets had been destroyed. Further attacks targeted the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria, which Turkey has long suspected of ties to the PKK.

The SDF countered that the attacks killed at least 12 civilians, describing the targets as “bakeries, a power station and local police checkpoints”.

In Sinjar, north Iraqan Iraqi security official confirmed that five Yazidis were also killed in the Turkish attacks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

Far-right nationalist head demands indictment of Öcalan

This latest escalation comes amid tentative efforts at dialogue aimed at ending a conflict now in its fifth decade.

Devlet Bahceli, leader of Turkey extreme right The nationalist party, the Nationalist Movement Party, recently suggested that PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is in prison for life, could be released on parole if he renounces violence and disbands the organization. Öcalan, held on a prison island nearby Istanbulhas since shown a willingness to “work for peace,” his cousin said.

Although Öcalan has been imprisoned in Turkey since 1999, he remains a symbolic leader.

However, the PKK’s military wing, the People’s Defense Center, insisted that the attack on TUSAS was not linked to any “political agenda” and was planned well in advance.

The Turkish government responded by stepping up domestic security operations, with the Interior Ministry announcing the detention of 176 PKK suspects across the country.

This article contains reporting from the Associated Press