Ankara: Three people were killed and 14 others wounded in an attack on a top Turkish defense firm near Ankara, Turkiye’s interior minister said Wednesday.
“We have three martyrs and 14 injured in the attack,” wrote Ali Yerlikaya on X, also saying “two militants were neutralized” in the incident at the headquarters of state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) which he earlier described as a “militant attack.”
Footage from the scene broadcast by local media initially showed huge clouds of smoke and a large fire raging at the site in Kahramankazan, a small town some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Ankara.
Haberturk TV said there was an ongoing “hostage situation” without giving further details, while the private NTV television spoke of gunshots after the blast which took place around 4:00 p.m. (1300 GMT).
There was no immediate claim for the attack.
The blast occurred as a major trade fair for the defense and aerospace industries was taking place in Istanbul which was visited this week by Ukraine’s top diplomat.
Turkiye’s defense sector, which is widely known for its Bayraktar drones, accounts for nearly 80 percent of the nation’s export revenues with revenues expected to top 10.2 billion dollars in 2023.
