Four killed in 'terror attack' at Turkish aviation firm

Four people have been killed and 14 others wounded in an attack at the Turkish Aerospace Industries' headquarters, Turkey's government has said, while witnesses said they heard gunfire and a loud explosion at the site near Ankara.

Turkish President Recep Erdoğan, alongside Russia's Vladimir Putin at a BRICS conference in the Russian city of Kazan, condemned what he said was a "heinous terrorist attack".

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said three of the injured were in critical condition and that two attackers "a woman and a man, have been neutralised".

He said work was under way to determine their identities but did not say whether there were any other attackers still at large.

TV broadcasters earlier showed footage of armed assailants entering the TUSAS building.

Media outlets which had been showing live footage from the scene were forced to halt their broadcasts after Turkey's media watchdog ordered a blackout of images from the site.

The cause and perpetrators of the blast and subsequent gunfire remained unclear.

No group has claimed responsibility. Prosecutors have launched an investigation, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Some media reports claimed a suicide attack had occurred and that there were hostages inside the building, though officials have not confirmed this.

"A terrorist attack was carried out against the TUSAS facilities in Kahramankazan, Ankara.

"Unfortunately, we have martyrs and injured people," Mr Yerlikaya said on social media.

Witnesses told Reuters that employees inside the building were taken by authorities to shelters and no one was permitted to leave for a few hours.

They said the blasts they heard may have taken place at different exits as employees were leaving work for the day.

Broadcasters showed images of a damaged gate and footage of an exchange of gunfire in a parking lot, as well as attackers carrying assault rifles and backpacks as they entered the building.

Ambulances and helicopters later arrived.

The attack drew condemnation from Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu as well as opposition leader Ozgur Ozel, who heads the CHP.

"I condemn the terrorist attack against TAI facilities in Kahramankazan... I condemn terrorism, no matter who or where it comes from," Mr Ozel wrote on X.

TUSAS is one of Turkey's most important defence and aviation companies.

It produces KAAN, the country's first national combat aircraft, among other projects, and has over 10,000 employees.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the military alliance stands with Turkey.

"Deeply concerning reports of dead and wounded in Ankara. NATO stands with our Ally Turkey.

"We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and are monitoring developments closely," he posted on social media.

Mr Erdoğan has been holding a meeting with Mr Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.

"I would like to express my condolences in connection with the terror attack," Mr Putin told him at the start of their meeting.

The last attack in Turkey took place in January when a man was shot dead by two gunmen who opened fire inside a Catholic church in Istanbul.

That attack was claimed by Islamic State group jihadists.

In October 2023, two policemen were injured in an attack in the government district in Ankara.

Police shot dead one assailant while the other died in an apparent suicide blast outside the interior ministry.

That attack was claimed by the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 in a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.