The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed responsibility on Friday for the attack on a Turkish state defense company in Ankara, which earlier this week left five people dead and 22 injured.
Two attackers carried out the assault on Wednesday using automatic rifles and explosives at the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in Turkey’s capital.
“The act of sacrifice at the TAI campus in Ankara on Wednesday around 3:30 p.m. local time was carried out by a team from the PKK’s Immortals Battalion,” read a message posted on Telegram.
Previously, the Turkish government stated it had evidence that the PKK was responsible, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attack’s goal was “the survival of our country.”
Hours after Wednesday’s attack, the Turkish government launched airstrikes targeting PKK positions in northern Iraq and Syria. The PKK operates from its headquarters in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq.
The group has waged intermittent uprisings against the Turkish state since 1984, and it is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States (U.S.), and the European Union (EU).
