Turkey launches strikes after attack on aviation company

Turkish Vice-President Cevdet Yilmaz said four of the victims were TAI employees while the fifth was a taxi driver.

Local media had earlier reported that the attackers killed the cab driver before taking his vehicle to carry out the attack.

The blast took place around the time of a shift change, and staff had to be directed to shelters, they said.

Yerlikaya also confirmed that seven special ops forces members were among the 22 who were injured in the attack.

President Erdogan – who is in Russia for the Brics summit – condemned what he called a “vile terror attack” during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in remarks broadcast live on TV.

He later posted a lengthy statement on X, saying that security forces acted quickly to neutralise the threat, and that “no terrorist organisation, no evil focus targeting our security will be able to achieve their goals”.

Turkish authorities have imposed a media blackout on details of the attack, and users in large areas of the country have reported not being able to use social media sites like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X.

The president of Turkey’s Radio and TV Supreme Council, Ebubekir Sahin, warned that all images relating to the incident should be removed from social media, and urged users not to share images which “will serve the purpose of terrorism”.