Emergency crews and police officers work outside Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. on the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey on October 23, 2024 | Photo: AP
A huge explosion outside the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) near Ankara left a number of people “dead and injured”, Turkey’s interior minister said on Wednesday (23 Oct 2024), describing it as a “terrorist attack”.
“There was a terrorist attack on the Turkish aerospace industry… Unfortunately, we have martyrs and injured people,” Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X, using a term often used for the deaths of soldiers or policemen.
Footage from the scene aired by local media initially showed huge plumes of smoke and a large fire raging at the site in Kahramankazan, a small town about 40km north of Ankara.
Haberturk TV said there was an ongoing “hostage situation” without elaborating, while Pvt NTV television said gunshots followed the explosion, which went off around 4:00 pm local time (1:00 pm GMT; 6:30 am IST).
There were no immediate claims about the attack.
The explosion occurred during a major trade fair for the defense and space industries being held in Istanbul, which was visited this week by Ukraine’s top diplomat.
Turkey’s defense sector, widely known for its Bayraktar drones, accounts for nearly 80% of the country’s export earnings, with revenues expected to exceed $10.2 billion in 2023.
Published – October 23, 2024, 8:02 PM IST
