The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Turkish defense company TUSAS in Ankara, according to the Kurdish news agency ANF.

The report states that the "Immortal Battalion," an autonomous unit of the PKK's military arm, was responsible for the attack, which was carried out in response to Turkish "massacres" and other actions in Kurdish regions.

The attack took place shortly after an advance on the possible release of PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan under the condition that his organization disarms. The PKK denies any links between this and to the attack.

Who is the PKK and what are their aims?

In Turkey, social tensions between Turks and Kurds have been an issue for decades.

Kurds have been demanding more cultural and political rights from the centrally organized Turkish state, while Ankara often frames such demands as a threat to national stability.

Kurds make up around 20% of Turkey's population. While they live all over the country, the largest communities are concentrated in the southeast. Kurdish groups also live in the neighboring states of Syria, Iraq and Iran.

In Iraq, the Kurds hold a semi-autonomous status in the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan, while in northeastern Syria some areas are under the control of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Within Turkey, two main actors seek to represent the interests of the Kurds: The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party,........

© Deutsche Welle