PKK claims attack on Turkish aerospace company

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) claimed responsibility on Friday for an attack on the headquarters of state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) in Ankara. 

"The act of sacrifice at TAI campus in Ankara at around 15:30 local time on Wednesday was carried out by an autonomous team of the Immortals Battalion" of the PKK, it said on Telegram.

It added, "It is known that the weapons produced by TAI have killed thousands of civilians in Kurdistan, including children and women. There is no more legitimate right than every patriotic organization, institution and person from Kurdistan taking action against the centers where these weapons of massacre are produced."

Two members of the Kurdish armed group attacked the HQ of TUSAS in the Turkish capital on Wednesday, using an explosive device and gunfire. Five people were killed and 22 others were injured. The attackers were also killed. 

Hours after the attack, Turkish forces bombarded areas of northern Iraq and Syria, before the PKK claimed the attack. The Turkish government said it had proof the group was behind the incident.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led coalition backed by the US, said 12 civilians were killed, including two children, and 25 others were injured in the strikes. 

A spokesman for the SDF, Farhad Shami, said Turkish forces continued to bombard Ayn al-Arab (Kobani) in northern Syria overnight.

PKK-aligned media said Turkish drones struck a wheat warehouse, petrol stations, a power station, and oil wells in the city. 

The SDF attacked Turkish bases in Syria in response to the strikes. "As part of the legitimate response to the ongoing Turkish occupation’s brutal and continuous attacks on our people and territories, our SDF forces have conducted two successful operations targeting the bases of the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries," the coalition said in a statement. It added several Turkish soldiers were killed or injured, without giving further details. 

The military wing of the PKK, the People's Defense Forces (HPG), in a statement said its forces attacked Turkish troops attempting to advance into their tunnels in northern Iraq on Thursday afternoon, killing four soldiers and injuring two others. 

Turkish authorities have not yet commented on the reported Kurdish attacks. 

On Friday, Turkey's National Intelligence Organization said they struck 120 PKK targets since the start of the recent raids. 

Turkey regularly conducts air and drone strikes targeting PKK members and bases in northern Iraq and Syria.

A designated terrorist organisation by Turkey and its Western allies, the PKK has been carrying out an insurgency since 1984, primarily operating in northern Iraq’s Dahuk province and southeastern Turkey. The People's Defense Units (YPG) is its Syrian arm, operating in the north and east of the country. More than 40,000 people have been killed in PKK attacks, including many Kurdish civilians.

The group's initial goal was to establish an independent Kurdish state. It later pivoted its demands to gain greater rights and partial autonomy in southeast Turkey.