The People’s Defence Centre (HSM) has released a written statement claiming responsibility for the October 23 terror attack on Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS), a government-run stealth drone maker in the Turkish capital Ankara, ANF reported on October 25.

ANF is the official news service of the Kurdish separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

HSM is the command centre of the People’s Defence Forces (HPG), a unit of the PKK.

The terror attack—which resulted in the deaths of five people and left 22 individuals with injuries—may be seen by some analysts as the PKK’s response to talk of a peace process recently pushed by some figures within the Erdogan regime, though the HSM said in its statement that it was not a related action, adding that the attack was planned a long time ago and was carried out by an "autonomous team".

The attack was staged on the same day that Osman Ocalan, a nephew of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, was, as part of attempts to get the wheels of a fresh peace process turning, allowed to visit his uncle, who had been denied visitors for five years.

Since the terror attack, Turkey has launched waves of punishment strikes that it says have targeted PKK fighters in Syria and Iraq. In its statement, HSM claimed the air strikes had not caused any casualties among PKK militia but, according to press reports, had led to the deaths of around 15 civilians, including children, and amounted to a war crime.

Also on October 25, Bloomberg reported Ankara as saying that the deadly attack on TUSAS, seen as Turkey’s main aerospace company, was aimed at destabilising the country’s attempts to develop a self-sufficient defence industry and thus strengthen its position in the region.  

The news agency quoted the Turkish parliament as saying in a statement after the attack: “The main target of this attack is our national defence industry and our determined march toward a fully independent Turkey.”

Turkey has been fighting the PKK, which has its headquarters across the border in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq, for 40 years.  

TUSAS is at the forefront of Nato member Turkey’s project to develop a fifth-generation fighter jet, known as Kaan. The UK’s BAE Systems is assisting the effort, while TUSAS also has a joint venture with GE Aerospace, the US defence firm that is the world’s largest maker of jet engines.

Under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has long been working to build up the knowhow and resources of its defence industry to domestically produce military hardware including warplanes, frigates, drones, ballistic missiles, submarines and tanks. The resultant production programmes have a mixed record, with Turkey often hamstrung by a continuing need to source major components from abroad. The sourcing has been complicated over the years by sanctions and boycotts applied to Turkey in response to matters including the Erdogan regime’s wretched human rights record and defiance of Western capitals’ wishes in foreign policy moves such as incursions into Syria and the acquisition of missile systems from the Kremlin.

Bloomberg noted that in addition to its role in developing military aircraft, including combat helicopters and stealth drones, TUSAS production has included helicopter fuselages for Italy’s Leonardo Helicopters as well as composite panels on critical aircraft components for General Dynamics Corp’s Gulfstream G650 business jet.

TUSAS has a minority share in Airbus SE military and has provided parts for the Airbus A400M military transport aircraft.