Turkey Strikes PKK After Aerospace Industry Facility Attack
After an attack on the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in Ankara on Wednesday, where at least two gunmen opened fire and killed five people, the Turkish military retaliated by targeting sites in Northern Iraq and Northern Syria linked to the Kurdish PKK group....
Facts
- After an attack on the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in Ankara on Wednesday, where at least two gunmen opened fire and killed five people, the Turkish military retaliated by targeting sites in Northern Iraq and Northern Syria linked to the Kurdish PKK group.[1]
- No organization has taken responsibility for the attack, which left 22 people injured. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the authorities had 'neutralized' the two attackers, a man and a woman, but insisted that the PKK was likely involved.[2][3][1]
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was in Russia, for the annual BRICS meeting when the attack occurred. In a social media post, Erdoğan condemned the 'hateful attack' that targeted the military sector. The US released a statement also condemning the incident.[4][5]
- Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, suggested on Tuesday that PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned since 1999, could be allowed to appear in parliament if he renounced the hostilities and dissolved the PKK.[6]
- Omer Ocalan, the nephew of the PKK leader, claims that Abdullah Ocalan is in isolation and has pledged to assist in ending the conflict 'if the conditions are right.' This could conceivably lead to Abdullah Ocalan's ultimate parole.[7][8]
- Since the beginning of the 1980s, when the PKK took up its armed struggle for autonomy, tens of thousands have lost their lives in the conflict. Turkey and its Western allies view the PKK as a terrorist organization.[7]
Sources: [1]BBC News, [2]Reuters, [3]Saudigazette, [4]CNN, [5]NPR Online News, [6]Al Jazeera, [7]PBS NewsHour and [8]CBS.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Daily Sabah and Al Jazeera. The terrible terrorist attack on Wednesday looks to have been a well-planned assault on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), a strategic defense company that, among other things, makes unmanned aerial vehicles, which have proven effective in combating Kurdish insurgents in both Syria and Iraq. Turkey is at war and is more determined than ever to rid the country of terrorists while also protecting both Turkish and Kurdish civilians.
- Narrative B, as provided by MSN and Globalissues. In response to the deadly attack on the aerospace industry facility in Ankara on Wednesday, Turkish warplanes targeted Kurdish civilian infrastructure in northern Iraq and northern Syria — causing an unacceptable loss of life. Ankara asserts its 'right to self-defense,' yet it disproportionately punishes innocent civilians in neighboring countries with its military aggression. Turkey's cycle of violence against the Kurdish people must come to an end.
