Attack in Ankara, Türkiye: Four dead, 14 injured in attack on Turkish aerospace company

CNN
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Armed attackers carried out a deadly “terrorist” attack on Turkey’s state-owned aerospace company near the capital Ankara on Wednesday, government officials said.

At least four people were killed and 14 injured, three of them in critical condition, in the “terrorist attack” on the headquarters of the Turkish Aerospace Industry (TUSAS) on the outskirts of Ankara, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. Two attackers – a man and a woman – were killed, he added.

“I condemn this heinous attack. Our fight will continue with determination and determination until the last terrorist is neutralized,” Yerlikaya said. “May God have mercy on our martyrs. I wish our injured a speedy recovery.”

A social media video verified and geolocated by CNN showed the moment an explosion rocked the TUSAS headquarters. After the explosion, a person with a gun is seen running into what appears to be a parking lot.

Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Mark Rutte, NATO’s secretary general, said he had spoken to Erdogan about the “deeply worrying” attack. “NATO stands with Turkey,” he said.

Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas said he was “saddened” by the blow to TUSAS, a major defense contractor. Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation into the attack had been launched.

After the attack, the aerospace company’s chief executive, Mehmet Demiroglu, left a high-profile defense trade fair early to return to Ankara, state news agency Anadolu reported.

According to its website, TUSAS was incorporated into Turkey’s Ministry of Industry and Technology in 1973 to reduce the “foreign dependence” of the country’s defense industry.

“This is one of the largest defense companies in the country. It produces armed drones and fighter jets,” Ragip Soylu, Turkish bureau chief of the Middle East Eye news agency, told CNN.

The attack occurred as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in the Russian city of Kazan to attend the annual BRICS summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences after the attack.

“You know how we feel about it. “We condemn any statements of this kind, regardless of their motives,” Putin told Erdogan in his opening speech, just hours after the attack in Ankara.

The US State Department is “following reports” of the attack, a spokesman told CNN.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.