Turkey Identifies Perpetrator of Terrorist Attack as PKK Member

ankara/istanbul - The Turkish government announces the identification of a perpetrator involved in the terrorist attack on aerospace company TUSAS, linking him to the PKK.

The Turkish government has swiftly responded with new airstrikes on dozens of targets in Iraq and Syria associated with the PKK. Security measures at airports in Turkey have been heightened following the attack, as reported by Turkish media. All vehicles departing from or heading to an airport complex are being thoroughly searched, media outlets in Istanbul stated.

Coincidentally, the imprisoned PKK founder and leader Abdullah Öcalan received a family visit for the first time since March 2020 on Wednesday at the prison located on an island in the Sea of Marmara. Öcalan has been virtually isolated in the Imrali prison, situated 60 kilometers southwest of Istanbul, since 1999, rarely allowed any visits. He established the PKK in 1978 as a Marxist-Leninist movement advocating for Kurdish nationalist aspirations with a strong emphasis on personal cult around the party leader.

In 1984, the PKK turned to violence in its pursuit of a Kurdish state, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties in its conflict with the Turkish state. Öcalan renounced armed struggle in 2006. Ankara classifies the movement as a terrorist organization, a stance shared by many other countries. Öcalan was apprehended in Kenya in early 1999. Efforts towards reconciliation between Öcalan and the Turkish government have yet to materialize.