Kurdish rebel group ‘likely’ behind deadly attack on Turkish aerospace firm, minister says

Pinar Ersoy
BBC Turkish Service

We still don’t know who is responsible for the attack on a state-owned defence and aerospace company outside the Turkish capital.

But today’s attack has taken place amid a debate in Turkey about reigniting peace talks with the PKK – a Kurdish rebel group, banned as a terrorist organisation in Turkey, the US and UK.

It also comes a day after government-ally Devlet Bahceli said PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan should announce the outlawed group’s “abolition” in parliament, which would suggest his release from prison.

Bahceli is a key player in Turkish politics, and his suggestion is considered to be significant given his opposition to previous peace talks.

The PKK has been fighting against the Turkish state for greater rights for the country’s significant Kurdish minority since the 1980s.

Ocalan, who founded the group, was arrested in 1999 and has been in a high security prison since.

A reminder: no group has claimed responsibility for the attack and few details about the nature of the incident have been confirmed.