Turkey: Kurdish militant group behind attack on aerospace firm

TAI is a major player in Turkey’s aerospace industry, designing, developing and manufacturing various aircraft for commercial and military use.

As well as being the Nato member’s licensed manufacturer of US-designed F-16 fighter jets, the company also plays a role in modernising older aircraft for the Turkish military.

The HPG said it “does not take actions frequently as a principle”, but occasionally carried out “self-sacrificing” acts that served as “warnings and messages” to the Turkish government.

The victims were named by Turkey’s state-run news agency as TAI employees Cengiz Coskun, Zahide Guclu, Atakan Sahin Erdogan, Huseyin Canbaz, as well as taxi driver Murat Arslan.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the two attackers had been “neutralised”.

The HPG also said Wednesday’s attack was “nothing to do with the political agenda debated in Turkey in the last month”.

Before it occurred, there had been speculation over the possibility of a ceasefire deal between the PKK and the Turkish state – fuelled by some seemingly conciliatory acts.

On Tuesday, a key ally of Erdogan suggested that the PKK’s leader, Abdullah Ocalan, could be released from his life imprisonment in a Turkish prison if he publicly disbanded the organisation – seen by some as a starting point for reconciliation.

The following day, Ocalan was allowed a visit from his nephew – the first family visit in 43 months – according the Reuters news agency.