Turkish aerospace firm hit in deadly 'terrorist attack'
The attack killed five people and wounded at least 22 others
What happened
A pair of armed assailants stormed the headquarters of Turkey's state-run aviation and defense company Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) on Wednesday, killing five people and wounding at least 22 others. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the "terrorist attack" near Ankara, the capital, was "most likely carried out" by the outlawed militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Who said what
Footage of the attack, broadcast before the government "limited local news coverage to official statements," showed a man and a woman "rushing into a building with backpacks and assault rifles," The New York Times said. Yerlikaya said both of the attackers were killed. "We give these PKK scoundrels the punishment they deserve every time. But they never come to their senses,” Defense Minister Yasar Guler said. “We will pursue them until the last terrorist is eliminated."
Turkey's air force "struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria" after yesterday's attack, in "apparent retaliation," The Associated Press said. TUSAS designs and builds "civilian and military aircraft," including combat drones that "have been instrumental in Turkey gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants." The PKK's decades-long fight for autonomy in southeast Turkey has cost tens of thousands of lives.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Turkey's main Kurdish political party "condemned the attack and suggested that it could have been launched by people seeking to prevent" nascent proposed peace talks between Ankara and the PKK, the Times said.
-
Europe’s apples are peppered with toxic pesticidesUnder the Radar Campaign groups say existing EU regulations don’t account for risk of ‘cocktail effect’
-
Political cartoons for February 1Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Tom Homan's offer, the Fox News filter, and more
-
Will SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic make 2026 the year of mega tech listings?In Depth SpaceX float may come as soon as this year, and would be the largest IPO in history
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
