Attack on Turkish defense firm clears the halls of local arms fair

ISTANBUL — Turkish government and industry officials were rushed out of the country’s largest defense show here on Wednesday following an attack on a national aerospace company near the capital city of Ankara.

At least four people have been killed and 14 injured in a “terrorist attack” against state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI, or TUSAS) headquarters in Kahramankazan, near Ankara, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement.

The assault took place on the second day of the country’s largest defense fair, Saha Expo, organized here from Oct 22-26.

In the late afternoon of Oct. 23, a number of sirens were heard outside of the expo’s venue as responders headed towards the nearby highways. A number of Turkish government and industry officials were then rushed to cars waiting outside, although it was unclear which companies they represented.

TAI’s general manager, Mehmet Demiroglu, was among those who left Saha Expo early to return to Ankara, roughly 280 miles to the east, state news agency Anadolu reported.

Additional police cars were placed in front of the Turkish Airlines Flight Training Center located next to the exhibition hall.

It was unclear on Wednesday if the defense expo would continue the following day. While organizer representatives initially told Defense News that it was likely to run as planned, they canceled portions of the remainder of the show on Wednesday evening.

Assailants set off explosives and opened fire in an attack Wednesday on the premises of the national aerospace company, killing four people and wounding several, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

At least two of the attackers died, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

“We have four martyrs. We have 14 wounded. I condemn this heinous terrorist attack and wish mercy on our martyrs,” Erdogan said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the sidelines of a BRICS meeting in Kazan, Russia.

Putin offered him condolences over the attack.

Selim Cirpanoglu, mayor of the district of Kahramankazan, told The Associated Press that the attack on the company in the outskirts of the capital, Ankara, had abated but could not provide more details.

It was not clear who may be behind it. Kurdish militants, the Islamic State group and leftist extremists have carried out attacks in the country in the past.

Security camera images from the attack, aired on television, showed a man in plainclothes carrying a backpack and holding an assault rifle.

Turkish media said three assailants, including a woman, arrived at an entry to the complex inside a taxi. The assailants, who were carrying assault weapons, then detonated an explosive device next to the taxi, causing panic and allowing them to enter the complex.

Multiple gunshots were heard after Turkish security forces entered the site, the DHA news agency and other media reported. Helicopters were seen flying above the premises.

TUSAS designs, manufactures and assembles both civilian and military aircrafts, unmanned aerial vehicles and other defense industry and space systems. The UAVs have been instrumental in Turkey gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants in Turkey and across the border in Iraq.

Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said the target of the attack was Turkey’s “success in the defense industry.”

“It should be known that these attacks will not be able to deter the heroic employees of defense industry,” he wrote on X.

With material from the Associated Press.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

伊斯坦布尔——周三，在首都安卡拉附近一家国家航空航天公司遭到袭击后，土耳其政府和工业界官员紧急撤离了该国最大的国防展览会。

土耳其内政部长阿里·耶尔利卡亚在一份声明中表示，在安卡拉附近的卡赫拉曼卡赞，土耳其国家航空航天工业公司（TAI，或称TUSAS）总部遭到“恐怖袭击”，造成至少4人死亡，14人受伤。

袭击事件发生在该国最大的防务展——萨哈博览会的第二天，该博览会于 10 月 22 日至 26 日在此举行。

10月23日下午晚些时候，世博会场馆外响起多声警笛，救援人员赶往附近高速公路。随后，一些土耳其政府和行业官员被迅速送上等候在外的车辆，但尚不清楚他们分别代表哪些公司。

据土耳其国家通讯社阿纳多卢通讯社报道，土耳其航空航天工业公司总经理穆罕默德·德米罗格鲁是提前离开萨哈展览中心返回安卡拉的人员之一，安卡拉位于萨哈展览中心以东约 280 英里处。

额外的警车停放在展览馆旁边的土耳其航空公司飞行训练中心门前。

周三，尚不清楚这场防务展是否会在第二天继续举行。尽管主办方代表最初告诉《防务新闻》，展会很可能会按计划进行，但他们在周三晚上取消了剩余部分的部分内容。

土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安表示，袭击者周三在国家航空航天公司厂区引爆炸弹并开枪，造成四人死亡，多人受伤。

内政部长阿里·耶尔利卡亚表示，至少有两名袭击者死亡。

“我们有四名烈士，14人受伤。我谴责这起令人发指的恐怖袭击，并祈求真主怜悯我们的烈士。”埃尔多安在俄罗斯喀山举行的金砖国家峰会期间与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京会晤时说道。

普京就此次袭击事件向他表示慰问。

卡赫拉曼卡赞区区长塞利姆·西尔帕诺格鲁告诉美联社，首都安卡拉郊区的这家公司遭受的袭击已经平息，但他无法提供更多细节。

目前尚不清楚幕后黑手是谁。库尔德武装分子、“伊斯兰国”组织和左翼极端分子过去都曾在该国发动袭击。

电视上播放的袭击事件监控录像显示，一名便衣男子背着背包，手持突击步枪。

土耳其媒体报道称，包括一名女性在内的三名袭击者乘坐出租车抵达该建筑群入口。这些袭击者携带突击武器，随后在出租车旁引爆了一枚爆炸装置，引发恐慌，并趁机进入建筑群。

据DHA通讯社和其他媒体报道，土耳其安全部队进入现场后，响起多声枪响。现场可见直升机盘旋。

土耳其航空航天系统公司（TUSAS）设计、制造和组装民用和军用飞机、无人机以及其他国防工业和航天系统。这些无人机在土耳其打击境内及伊拉克边境库尔德武装分子的战斗中发挥了关键作用，帮助土耳其占据了上风。

土耳其副总统杰夫德·耶尔马兹表示，此次袭击的目标是土耳其“在国防工业领域取得的成功”。

“应该知道，这些攻击无法阻止国防工业的英雄员工，”他在 X 上写道。

本文部分内容来自美联社。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。