Turkey Launches Fresh Strikes on Kurdish Terrorists in Syria and Iraq Following Terrorist Attack

A view shows smoke rising after explosions among buildings in Tal Rifaat, Aleppo Governorate, Syria, in this screen grab from a CCTV footage obtained from a social media video dated Oct. 24, 2024. Social Media/Reuters

Turkey has launched fresh attacks on suspected Kurdish terrorist targets in Syria and Iraq following a terrorist attack on a key defense company, according to its defense ministry.

Just hours after the alleged terrorist attack at the defense and aerospace company TUSAS in Ankara, which left at least five people dead, the Turkish air force retaliated by striking terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in northern Syria and Iraq on Oct. 23.

The Turkish Defense Ministry continued throughout the night and into Oct. 24 to target numerous “strategic locations” used by the PKK.

PKK

In a post on social media platform X on Oct. 24, the Turkish Defense Ministry stated that Turkish air strikes hit 47 terrorist targets in northern Iraq and Syria, “neutralising” 59 terrorists, including two ringleaders. Ankara typically uses the term “neutralised” to mean killed.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces stated on Oct. 24 that Turkish strikes in northern and eastern Syria had killed 12 civilians, including two children, and wounded 25 people.

“No member of the treacherous terrorist organization will be able to escape the grasp of Turkish soldiers,” Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on Oct. 24, saying that it was “not a coincidence” that TUSAS was targeted.

There has been no immediate statement or claim of responsibility from the PKK regarding the attack.

Terrorists

Smoke rises as emergency rescue teams and police officers attend outside Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. on the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey, on Oct. 23, 2024. IHA via AP

Suspected Kurdish terrorists set off explosives and opened fire on the afternoon of Oct. 23 at the aerospace and defense company TUSAS.

The two attackers—a man and a woman—also were killed, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. At least 22 people, including seven security personnel, were injured during the attack.

TUSAS designs, manufactures, and assembles civilian and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other defense industry and space systems. Its unmanned aerial vehicles have been used to fight Kurdish terrorists.

On Oct. 24, the Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu Agency named the five victims and their occupations: quality control employee Cengiz Coskun; mechanical engineer Zahide Guclu; employee Hasan Huseyin Canbaz; security guard Atakan Sahin Erdogan; and taxi driver Murat Arslan.

It stated that the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “heinous” attack.

Speaking alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin at a BRICS conference in the Russian city of Kazan, Erdogan said, “This cowardly attack has further strengthened Turkey’s determination to eliminate terrorism.”

On Oct. 24, Yerlikaya said the male attacker was confirmed to be a PKK member, while the female assailant had not yet been identified.

Reuters reported that the Oct. 23 attack came a day after a key ally of Erdogan’s said the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, may be allowed to speak in Turkey’s Parliament if he announces an end to the group’s insurgency, in exchange for the possibility of being released.

Marxist-Leninist Kurdish Separatists

According to the National Counterterrorism Center, the State Department designated the PKK a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

It stated that the PKK, also known as Kongra-Gel, is a militant Marxist-Leninist Kurdish separatist group established in 1978 with the goal of creating a unified, independent Kurdistan that has been waging an armed struggle against Turkey since 1984.

The terrorist group aims to gain control of Kurdish areas of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey and has maintained its headquarters in Iraq and largely focused on attacking targets in the Kurdish-dominant region of southeast Turkey.

Since 2019, Turkey has intermittently struck PKK terrorist targets in Northern Iraq as part of its Operation Claw-Lock.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.