Attackers kill 4, injure 14 at Turkish state aviation site
Four people were killed and 14 others wounded in an attack
at the Turkish Aerospace Industries' headquarters on Wednesday, the government
said, and witnesses said they heard gunfire and a loud explosion at the site
near Ankara.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said two attackers were
killed in what he called a terrorist attack, adding three of the injured are in
critical condition. TV broadcasters earlier showed footage of armed assailants
entering the TUSAS building.
"Two terrorists were neutralised in the terror attack
on the TUSAS Ankara Kahramankazan site. Sadly, we have 3 martyrs and 14 wounded
in the attack," Yerlikaya said, referring to the Aerospace Industries.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, alongside Russia's Vladimir
Putin at a BRICS conference in the Russian city of Kazan, also called it a
terrorist attack.
The cause and perpetrators of the blast and subsequent
gunfire remained unclear. No group had claimed responsibility. Prosecutors have
launched an investigation, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Some media reports claimed a suicide attack had occurred and
that there were hostages inside the building, though officials have not
confirmed this.
Witnesses told Reuters that employees inside the building
were taken by authorities to shelters and no one was permitted to leave for a
few hours. They said the blasts they heard may have taken place at different
exits as employees were leaving work for the day.
Broadcasters showed images of a damaged gate and footage of
an exchange of gunfire in a parking lot, as well as attackers carrying assault
rifles and backpacks as they entered the building. Ambulances and helicopters later
arrived.
TUSAS is Turkey's largest aerospace manufacturer, currently
producing a training craft, combat and civilian helicopters, as well as
developing the country's first indigenous fighter jet, KAAN. Owned by the
Turkish Armed Forces Foundation and government, it employs more than 10,000
people.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte condemned the attack and
said the military alliance would stand with its ally Turkey. The European Union
delegation in Turkey also condemned the attack.
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