ANKARA (Reuters) -A deadly attack was carried out at the Turkish Aerospace Industries’ headquarters near Ankara on Wednesday, the government said, as broadcasters showed footage of several armed assailants entering the building amid reports of gunfire and a loud explosion.
“A terrorist attack was carried out against the TUSAS facilities in Kahramankazan, Ankara. Unfortunately, we have martyrs and injured people,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on social media X, referring to the Aerospace Industries.
The cause and perpetrators of the blast and subsequent gunfire remained unclear. Some media reports claimed a suicide attack had occurred and that there were hostages inside the building. Officials have not confirmed this.
Witnesses told Reuters that employees inside the building were taken by authorities to shelters and no one was permitted to leave. They said bombings may have taken place at different exits as employees were leaving work for the day.
The state-owned Anadolu Agency said emergency services were dispatched to the site, while television images showed a damaged gate and an exchange of gunfire in a parking lot. The images showed the attackers carrying assault rifles and backpacks as they entered the building.
Anadolu also said prosecutors had launched an investigation into the attack.
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.
(Reporting by Mert Ozkan, Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Jonathan Spicer, Alison Williams, Alexandra Hudson)
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