Politics After attack in Ankara: Turkey flies attacks in Syria and Iraq

Following the attack in Ankara that left at least five people dead, Turkey has attacked targets in northern Syria and northern Iraq from the air.

According to the state news agency Anadolu, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that 32 targets had been destroyed. "Our airstrikes will continue in a determined manner", it continued. A few hours earlier, the Turkish government had linked the attack to the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkey regularly takes action against the PKK, headquartered in the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq, as well as against the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG in northern Syria, which it regards as an offshoot of the PKK.

On Wednesday afternoon, at least five people were killed and 22 injured in an attack on one of Turkey's most important defense companies. The two suspected attackers were also killed, said Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. The attack bore the hallmarks of the PKK, the minister said.

The Turkish Aerospace Industries Company (Tusas) is a subsidiary of the State Defense Industry Agency. Among other things, the company is a major producer of fighter planes and drones. According to analyst Murat Yetkin, Tusas drones are used by Turkey in the fight against both the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) and the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia.

SDA