Turkiye's Erdogan on PKK Ankara attack: Will eliminate terrorism at its roots

Shafaq News/ On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that the perpetrators of the recent attack on Ankara entered Turkiye from Syria, threatening to go to Syria to “eliminate the source of terrorism.”

Earlier today, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for the Wednesday attack on the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) company in Kahramankazan, Ankara. TUSAŞ is one of Turkiye's most important defense and aerospace companies, producing the Kaan, Turkiye's first domestically-made fighter jet, along with other projects.

Erdogan expressed his hope that “the Syrian government will adopt a constructive approach toward normalizing relations," adding that he requested Russian President Vladimir Putin to "pressure Damascus to respond to Ankara's call for normalization."

"We are committed to eliminating terrorism at its roots, and if Syria is the source, we will go there and take the necessary actions," he continued.

On Wednesday, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that the armed attack killed 5 and injured 22.

In response to the attack, Turkish forces have been conducting a series of airstrikes since Wednesday on PKK positions in northern Iraq and Syria.

Notably, the conflict between Turkiye and the PKK dates back to the early 1980s when the PKK, founded by Abdullah Ocalan, began advocating for an independent Kurdish state within Turkiye. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the conflict intensified, with the PKK engaging in guerrilla warfare and the Turkish military conducting large-scale operations against PKK bases, particularly in southeastern Turkiye and northern Iraq.

The early 2000s saw intermittent ceasefires and attempts at peace negotiations, including a notable peace process in 2013. However, this process collapsed in 2015, leading to renewed hostilities.