PKK Claims Ankara Attack, Erdogan Says Perpetrators Infiltrated from Syria

Emergency and security teams are deployed outside of Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. at the outskirts of Ankara, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Yavuz Ozden/Dia Photo via AP)
Emergency and security teams are deployed outside of Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. at the outskirts of Ankara, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Yavuz Ozden/Dia Photo via AP)
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PKK Claims Ankara Attack, Erdogan Says Perpetrators Infiltrated from Syria

Emergency and security teams are deployed outside of Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. at the outskirts of Ankara, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Yavuz Ozden/Dia Photo via AP)
Emergency and security teams are deployed outside of Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. at the outskirts of Ankara, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Yavuz Ozden/Dia Photo via AP)

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) on Friday claimed responsibility for this week's attack on Turkish defense company TUSAS that killed five people in Ankara, it said in a statement.

Two assailants - a man and a woman - carried out Wednesday's assault with automatic rifles and explosives on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) in Ankara. Twenty-two people were also wounded.

Both attackers were killed. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said later that they were confirmed to be PKK members.

The perpetrators of the attack infiltrated Türkiye from Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was cited as saying by broadcaster NTV and others on Friday.

Speaking to reporters on a flight back from Russia's Kazan, where he attended the BRICS summit, Erdogan vowed to eradicate terrorism at its source in Syria, adding that Türkiye would continue its battle against militants until the end.

Türkiye carried out airstrikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq overnight, hitting dozens of targets for the second night in a row, the Defense Ministry said on Friday.

The operation followed a security meeting that Erdogan chaired with key ministers and the armed forces and intelligence agency chiefs in Istanbul on Thursday evening.

Türkiye hit 34 PKK targets in Hakurk, Gara, Qandil and Sinjar in northern Iraq, destroying shelters, warehouses and other facilities, and "neutralizing" a large number of militants, the ministry said.

Security sources said separately that Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) had hit a total of 120 PKK targets in Iraq and Syria since the attack in Ankara.



WHO Chief Back to Work after Being Discharged from Hospital

FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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WHO Chief Back to Work after Being Discharged from Hospital

FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends the World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 27, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

The head of the World Health Organization said on social media platform X on Thursday he had been discharged from a hospital in Rio de Janeiro after being admitted overnight.

"I felt unwell yesterday afternoon and was admitted to Samaritano Barra Hospital in Rio, but I was discharged this morning and am back to work," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Tedros, 59, suffers from hypertension. He was in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 summit where he met with US President Joe Biden and other leaders, advocating for strengthened global cooperation in health emergencies.

Local newspaper O Globo had reported earlier on Thursday that Tedros sought medical attention at the facility with "symptoms of labyrinthitis and an hypertensive crisis," after showing signs of being unwell.

According to the report, Tedros was examined on Monday by health professionals on duty at the G20 summit and given medicine for high blood pressure, but was released once he was stable.