Kurdish PKK claims responsibility for attack on Turkish defense firm

DIYARBAKIR-AMED, Turkey’s Kurdish region,— The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on a Turkish defense facility in Ankara that left five people dead and injured 22 others, marking a major escalation in the ongoing conflict between the Kurdish militant group and the Turkish state.

The attack occurred on Wednesday afternoon at the Turkish state-run aviation company TUSAS, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) campus, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Turkish capital.

In a statement shared on Telegram, the PKK asserted that the assault was executed by what they called the “Immortals Battalion” around 3:30 p.m. local time.

The militant group, which has been involved in a prolonged insurgency against Turkey since the 1980s, described the attack as an “act of sacrifice.” According to local reports, the explosion sent plumes of smoke over the TAI campus as gunfire echoed in the area, prompting an immediate response from Turkish security forces.

The Turkish government quickly condemned the incident, labeling it a “terrorist” attack. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters that investigators had “strong evidence” linking the PKK to the strike.

“Efforts to confirm the identities of the perpetrators are ongoing,” he added. Yerlikaya also noted that two assailants—reported to be a man and a woman—were “neutralized” on the scene, but he declined to specify if others were involved.

Turkey Responds with Airstrikes on PKK Targets

Just hours after the PKK’s claim of responsibility, Turkish warplanes launched retaliatory airstrikes targeting PKK positions in Iraqi Kurdistan (Bashur) and Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava).

The swift military response signals Turkey’s stance on intensifying efforts to curb the militant group. The PKK has long conducted operations from its mountainous strongholds in Iraq, which has been a frequent target of Turkish cross-border raids.

Attack Raises Questions Amid Hints of Possible Dialogue

The timing of the attack has generated significant political speculation. Turkey’s political landscape has shown recent signs of a potential shift towards dialogue with Kurdish groups, sparking debates over whether a political solution could emerge to address the decades-long conflict.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a pro-Kurdish party and the third-largest group in Turkey’s parliament, suggested that the assault’s timing might have been intended to disrupt these tentative discussions. “It’s noteworthy that this attack took place just as the possibility of dialogue was being considered,” the HDP noted.

The political undercurrent surrounding the attack was further highlighted by recent statements from the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a member of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling coalition.

On the day before the attack, the MHP leader proposed allowing imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to make a public statement in parliament to officially dissolve the PKK. The suggestion drew significant attention, with some observers seeing it as a potential olive branch in a notoriously difficult peace process.

The PKK’s Role and Influence

Founded by Abdullah Ocalan in 1974, the PKK has been one of the most influential militant groups in the region, waging an insurgency against Turkey since 1984 in a bid for greater autonomy for Turkey’s Kurdish population in Turkish Kurdistan (Bakur).

This conflict has led to the deaths of more than 40,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish guerrillas. Turkey’s Kurdish minority, comprising approximately 22.5 million people, has long sought broader cultural rights and democratic recognition within Turkey.

The PKK typically targets Turkish military and government security sites, maintaining a strict policy of avoiding civilian casualties.

Ocalan, who was captured by Turkish intelligence in Kenya in 1999 and remains imprisoned on an island near Istanbul, continues to hold significant symbolic power within the Kurdish community both in Turkey and abroad.

For many Kurds, Ocalan represents the struggle for cultural identity and political rights, and his influence within the PKK and beyond has remained strong despite his imprisonment.

The PKK’s claim of responsibility for the attack on TAI and Turkey’s subsequent airstrikes underscore the complex and deeply entrenched nature of the Kurdish-Turkish conflict.