Who's PKK, group suspected to be behind Turkey terror attack
A deadly attack on the state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) headquarters near Ankara on Wednesday left five people dead and 22 injured. Surveillance footage captured armed assailants storming the facility and setting off explosives. The incident occurred while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was attending the Brics Summit in Russia. No group has taken responsibility for the attack, but when asked for a comment, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler suggested that the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) could be behind it.
PKK suspected in orchestrating deadly attack
Turkey, the European Union, and the United States all classify the PKK as a terrorist group. The group, which has Marxist-Leninist roots, was founded in the late 1970s and began an armed fight against the Turkish government in 1984, calling for an independent Kurdish state within Turkey. Over 40,000 people have died in the conflict. The PKK employs guerrilla warfare methods, attacking Turkish military and civilian targets.
Attack follows parole discussions for PKK founder
Notably, the attack on Wednesday came a day after talks of possibly granting parole to PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan if he renounces violence and disbands the group. President Erdogan condemned the incident as a "heinous terrorist attack," Al Jazeera reported. Following the attack, Turkey's government says its military struck sites in Iraq and Syria linked to the PKK. "A total of 32 targets belonging to the terrorists were successfully destroyed,"the Turkish defense ministry said in a statement.
Attackers' identities and affiliations yet to be confirmed
The Turkish government has not yet disclosed the identities of the attackers and imposed a media blackout on details of the attack. Ebubekir Şahin, president of Turkey's state-run Radio and Television Supreme Council, said broadcasters and social media companies have been asked to crack down on the spread of "unconfirmed information and images," with the risk of "severe sanctions" if they do not comply.
