Summary

Media caption,

Videos show how Ankara attack unfolded

  1. Woman tells BBC she needs VPN for some social media accesspublished at 17:44 British Summer Time 23 October

    We now have more on our earlier report about difficulties accessing social media sites.

    A woman in Bodrum, western Turkey, has told the BBC she's facing the same problem.

    "After the [attacks], the government restricted some social media apps such as X and Instagram […] and so we are using VPN applications to use these sites to get some information about what happened in Ankara,” she says.

    We are still yet to hear from the Turkish government officially about any restrictions, but earlier, the Chairman of Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), Ebubekir Şahin, expressed his concern that "unconfirmed information" is circulating on social media.

  2. Relatives at the scene waiting for informationpublished at 17:37 British Summer Time 23 October

    At the scene "many people are waiting in front of the company, with the relatives of employees trying to get information about their loved ones", says one local television journalist.

    Mevlut Isli tells BBC OS that it "is a major incident", with "a large number of ambulances" currently at the site.

  3. Watch: CCTV footage of gunman firing at entrancepublished at 17:25 British Summer Time 23 October

    We've received what appears to be CCTV footage of a gunman firing his weapon inside a Turkish Aerospace Industries building.

    He is wearing a rucksack and armed with what appears to be an assault rifle, shooting through sliding doors at the entrance to a building in the complex. Watch below:

    Media caption,

    Attacker opens fire inside Turkish aviation company building

  4. Pictures show armed police at scenepublished at 17:17 British Summer Time 23 October

    Three armed police walk close to the sceneImage source, Getty Images
    Police stand in front of an armoured vehicle at the sceneImage source, Getty Images
    An armoured vehicle approaching the sceneImage source, Getty Images
  5. What we know so farpublished at 17:00 British Summer Time 23 October

    What happened

    • Gunfire and explosions have been reported outside the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) headquarters
    • Turkish officials are describing this as a "terrorist attack"

    Four people killed

    • Four people have been killed, with 14 wounded, officials say
    • Two suspects - one man and one woman - have been "neutralised," Turkey's interior minister says

    What is Turkish Aerospace Industries?

    • TAI is a state-owned arms and aerospace technology company in Turkey, located in Kahramankazan, about 17 miles (28km) north-west of Ankara

    What we don’t know

    Map shows location of attack
  6. BBC Verify

    Unclear whether suspects pictured in viral videopublished at 16:52 British Summer Time 23 October

    By Nick Eardley and Joshua Cheetham

    When incidents like this happen, BBC Verify looks at footage being posted online to figure out what is real and build up a picture of what's happened.

    There is a lot material being circulated from this attack which we're working through.

    One video we have verified so far is filmed at a car park at the Turkish Aeropace Industries (TAI) building, just outside the capital Ankara.

    A few seconds in, you can see and hear explosion under a distinctive part of the building – which is how we verified the location video.

    Then, about 16 seconds into the video you can see what looks like a man with a large gun and a big pack moving into the shot.

    He moves forward, then turns around. We can't be sure at the moment if this was one of the people responsible for the attack due to the video quality and how far away they are.

    There is more dramatic footage from the complex which we're working to verify at the moment.

  7. Death toll rises to four - Turkish interior ministerpublished at 16:50 British Summer Time 23 October
    Breaking

    We've got you an update on the casualties from the attack.

    Turkey's interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, has stated that the death toll from the attack has risen to four.

    Fourteen people are injured, as we've reported earlier. However, Yerlikaya also mentions that three of the injured are in a serious condition.

    He adds that the two "terrorists" previously reported as "neutralised" are one female and one male.

  8. Not clear how many involved in attackpublished at 16:35 British Summer Time 23 October

    Paul Adams
    Diplomatic correspondent

    It’s not clear whether the Turkish interior minister’s statement that two "terrorists" had been "neutralised" means the incident involved only two people or more than that.

    Videos circulating on social media show two attackers, both carrying rucksacks and heavily armed, arriving at the gates of the facility in what appears to be a yellow taxi.

    They immediately open fire on pedestrians outside the gates, before entering the building.

    "I condemn this heinous attack," Ali Yelikaya says. "Our fight will continue with determination and determination until the last terrorist is neutralised."

  9. Watch: Explosion and gunfire at site of attackpublished at 16:31 British Summer Time 23 October

    Media caption,

    Watch: Explosion and gunshots seen near Turkish city of Ankara

    A sudden blast is seen after a series of gunshots at the scene of the incident

  10. Problems accessing social mediapublished at 16:30 British Summer Time 23 October

    Rushdi Abualouf
    Reporting from Istanbul

    At 17:48 Turkish time (15:48 BST), users in large areas of Turkey complained about their inability to use social media sites YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

  11. Turkish government begins judicial investigationpublished at 16:25 British Summer Time 23 October

    More from the Turkish government.

    The Ankara chief public prosecutor’s office has started a judicial investigation into the attack, according to Yılmaz Tunç, Turkey's justice minister.

    He mentions in a post on X that one deputy chief public prosecutor and eight public prosecutors have been assigned to the case.

  12. Nato stands with Turkey, says secretary generalpublished at 16:20 British Summer Time 23 October

    NATO Secteretary General Mark RutteImage source, EPA

    We're now starting to hear from international leaders.

    Mark Rutte, Nato's secretary general, has posted on X, describing the report on the attack as "deeply concerning".

    He says:

    Quote Message

    Nato stands with our ally Turkey. We strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and are monitoring developments closely."

  13. Analysis

    Key question is which group might be behind this attackpublished at 16:14 British Summer Time 23 October

    Frank Gardner
    Security correspondent

    Turkey is no stranger to attacks branded as terrorism.

    Historically, these have mostly been blamed on Kurdish separatists, whose camps in northern Syria and elsewhere in the region have come under repeated airstrikes from the Turkish air force.

    But the Islamic State group (IS) is also present in Turkey and then there is the question of the Turkish aerospace industry which produces drones that have changed the entire course of a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

    In the early stages of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the latter made large use of Turkish-made Bayraktar drones to target Russian tanks before Ukraine began mass producing its own drones.

    So the key question now, as the investigation into this attack gets under way, is who would benefit from doing this and why?

  14. CCTV images appear to show gunmanpublished at 16:08 British Summer Time 23 October

    We can bring you CCTV images now from inside the aviation facility which appear to show a man holding a weapon.

    A reminder - there are currently few confirmed details about the nature of the incident, or how many people may have been involved.

    A CCTV of a man holding a weapon, it looks to be an assault rifle and he is wearing a large rucksack
    A CCTV image of a man holding a weapon
  15. Three killed, 14 wounded and two suspects 'neutralised' - interior ministerpublished at 16:02 British Summer Time 23 October
    Breaking

    Just now, the Turkish interior minister has confirmed that three people have been killed, and he says 14 have been wounded in the incident.

    In a post on X, Ali Yerlikaya says that two suspects in the attack on the Turkish Aerospace Systems headquarters have been "neutralised".

  16. Three killed and five wounded in attack - local mayorpublished at 15:49 British Summer Time 23 October
    Breaking

    Three people have been killed in the attack on Turkish state-owned aviation company's headquarters, according to the local mayor.

    Selim Çırpanoğlu, mayor of Kahramankazan province, told the Turkish TV channel Tele1 that five other people had been wounded, Reuters reports.

  17. What is Turkish Aerospace Industries?published at 15:40 British Summer Time 23 October

    Turkish Aerospace Industries is a state-owned arms and aerospace technology company based near the capital Ankara.

    The firm produces both military and civilian planes and helicopters, as well as drone systems for the Turkish armed forces and others worldwide.

    Tai was launched, according to its website, to reduce Turkey's reliance on foreign imports of aerospace technology for military uses.

    It is the company designated by the Nato member to be the licenced manufacturer for the US-designed F-16 fighter jets. Tai also plays a role in modernising older aircraft for use by the Turkish military.

    The firm's two principle owners are the Turkish Armed Forces and a civilian arm of the Turkey's government charged with improving its defence capabilities and manage military procurement.

  18. What we know about the facility attackedpublished at 15:38 British Summer Time 23 October

    The site that has come under attack is the headquarters of TAI in Kahramankazan, around 17 miles (28km) to the north west of Ankara.

    According to the aerospace company's website, the campus covers an area of about 1.5 square miles (4 sq km).

    It is not yet clear exactly where or what has been attacked on the large site, we will update you when we know more.

    Map of Turkey, with Ankara and Istanbul marked. A second map below of Ankara marks the TAI headquarters around 20kn to the north west of the Turkish capital
  19. What we know so farpublished at 15:33 British Summer Time 23 October

    • Gunfire and explosions have been reported outside the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) headquarters near Ankara
    • The company is a state-owned arms and aerospace technology company
    • Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya called it a "terrorist attack", saying people had been killed and wounded
    • He said the "attack" took place at the company's facilities in Kahramankazan, located in the district of Ankara, about 25 miles outside Turkey's capital.
    • Footage of the incident shown by local media initially showed large clouds of smoke and a large fire, AFP reports
    • We don't yet know specifics in terms of casualty numbers or how many people may have been involved

    We'll bring you more information as we get it.

  20. In Pictures: Smoke and security services seen near attack sitepublished at 15:22 British Summer Time 23 October

    We're still waiting for a clear picture of what has happened at the Turkish Aerospace Systems headquarters, where a cloud smoke can be seen rising from the facility.

    Ambulances, soldiers and police have gathered at the scene following the blast and reports of gunfire.

    Smoke rises near TAI HQ, emergency services can be seen in the backgroundImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Smoke rises near TAI HQ, emergency services can be seen in the background

    An ambulance and Turkish police officers are pictured near the sceneImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    An ambulance and Turkish police officers are pictured near the scene

    A police helicopter is flyingImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Police helicopter spotted in the area