Kurdish militant group says responsible for Istanbul's airport attack

A Kurdish militant group has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport which killed one person, Turkish media reported on Saturday.

"Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), known as a sympathizer of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), carried out the mortar attack at Sabiha Gokcen airport leaving one aircraft cleaner dead and injured another one," Turkish media quoted a TAK statement published by Kurdish Firat News Agency.

The attack left five airplanes damaged as well, the statement claimed.

TAK also threatened Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and "his fascist" Justice and Development Party government, saying "they will not be able to live in peace in their own cities."

As to tourists and foreign companies operating in Turkey, TAK said that it will not be responsible for the security of foreigners traveling to Turkey.

The group, branded as a terrorist organization by Turkey and the United States, has carried out attacks in Turkey's Mediterranean and western provinces of Antalya and Mugla.

In 2005, it claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on a bus carrying foreign tourists in Kusadasi, a popular resort town in Aydin province, that left 20 wounded.

Turkish security forces have been fighting against the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) militants since July in the country's southeast and northern Iraq, shattering a two-year-old peace process.

The PKK is seeking to establish an autonomous region in Turkey's southeastern provinces, which are dominated by Kurds. Endit