The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement which historically operated throughout Kurdistan but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. It was founded in Fîs, Lice, Diyarbakır on 27 November 1978 and has been involved in asymmetric warfare in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict. Although the PKK initially sought an independent Kurdish state, in the 1990s its official platform changed to seeking autonomy and increased political and cultural rights for Kurds within Turkey.
The October 2007 clashes in Hakkari were a series of clashes between the Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Turkish Armed Forces.
This is the timeline of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. The Kurdish insurgency is an armed conflict between the Republic of Turkey and various Kurdish insurgent groups, which have demanded separation from Turkey to create an independent Kurdistan, or to have autonomy and greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. The main rebel group is the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, which was founded on November 27, 1978, and started a full-scale insurgency on August 15, 1984, when it declared a Kurdish uprising. Apart from some extended ceasefires, the conflict has continued to the present day.
The 2012 Gaziantep bombing was a terrorist bomb attack which occurred in the city of Gaziantep, Turkey on 20 August 2012, the second day of the three-day celebrations of "Şeker Bayramı" (Eid-ul-Fitr) that refers to the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Turkey's involvement in the Syrian civil war began diplomatically and later escalated militarily. Initially, Turkey condemned the Syrian government at the outbreak of civil unrest in Syria during the spring of 2011; the Turkish government's involvement gradually evolved into military assistance for the Free Syrian Army in July 2011, border clashes in 2012, and direct military interventions in 2016–17, in 2018, in 2019, 2020, and in 2022. The military operations have resulted in the Turkish occupation of northern Syria since August 2016.
The Suruç bombing was a suicide attack by the Turkish sect of Islamic State named Dokumacılar against Turkish leftists that took place in the Suruç district of Şanlıurfa Province in Turkey on 20 July 2015, outside the Amara Culture Centre. A total of 34 people were killed and 104 were reported injured. Most victims were members of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) Youth Wing and the Socialist Youth Associations Federation (SGDF), university students who were giving a press statement on their planned trip to reconstruct the Syrian border town of Kobanî.
In late July 2015, the third phase of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict between various Kurdish insurgent groups and the Turkish government erupted, following a failed two and a half year-long peace process aimed at resolving the long-running conflict.
On 10 October 2015 at 10:04 local time (EEST) in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, two bombs were detonated outside Ankara Central railway station. With a death toll of 109 civilians, the attack surpassed the 2013 Reyhanlı bombings as the deadliest terror attack in Turkish history. Another 500 people were injured. Censorship monitoring group Turkey Blocks identified nationwide slowing of social media services in the aftermath of the blasts, described by rights group Human Rights Watch as an "extrajudicial" measure to restrict independent media coverage of the incident.
On 12 January 2016, a suicide attack in Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet district killed 13 people, all foreigners, and injured 14 others. The attack occurred at 10:20 local time, near the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, an area popular among tourists. The attacker was Nabil Fadli, a Syrian member of the Islamic State.
The February 2016 Ankara bombing killed at least 30 people and injured 60 in the capital of Turkey. According to Turkish authorities, the attack targeted a convoy of vehicles carrying both civilian and military personnel working at the military headquarters during the evening rush hour as the vehicles were stopped at traffic lights at an intersection with İsmet İnönü Boulevard close to Kızılay neighborhood. Several ministries, the headquarters of the army and the Turkish Parliament are located in the neighbourhood where the attack occurred. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) took responsibility for the attack and said they targeted security forces. Censorship monitoring organization Turkey Blocks reported nationwide internet restrictions beginning approximately one hour after the blast pursuant to an administrative order. The attack killed 14 military personnel, 14 civilian employees of the military, and a civilian.
The March 2016 Ankara bombing killed at least 37 people and injured 125. Of the 125 individuals who suffered injuries, 19 were seriously harmed. Several buildings were also damaged during the event, and a bus and many cars were reportedly completely destroyed.
On 19 March 2016, a suicide bombing took place in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district in front of the district governor's office. The attack occurred at 10:55 (EET) at the intersection of Balo Street with İstiklal Avenue, a central shopping street. The attack caused at least five deaths, including that of the perpetrator. Thirty-six people were injured, including seven whose injuries were severe. Among those injured were twelve foreign tourists. Among those killed, three were of Israeli nationality. On 22 March, the Turkish interior minister said that the bomber had links with ISIL.
On 7 June 2016, at around 08:40 (UTC+3), a bombing occurred in central Istanbul, Turkey, killing 12 people and injuring 51 others, three of them seriously. The attack targeted a bus carrying policemen as the vehicle passed through the Vezneciler district near the Şehzade Mosque and the Vezneciler Metro station.
On the evening of 10 December 2016, two explosions caused by a car bombing and suicide bombing in Istanbul's Beşiktaş municipality killed 48 people and injured 166 others. 39 of those killed were police officers, 7 were civilians and 2 were perpetrators. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) assumed responsibility, claiming that their members killed more than 100 police officers.
On December 17, 2016, a suspected car bombing in Kayseri, Turkey killed 15 soldiers aboard a bus and wounded at least 55 others. According to the Daily Sabah newspaper, the soldiers — all low-ranking privates and non-commissioned officers — had been given permission for leave from the commando headquarters in the city. The explosion comes a week after 44 people were killed in a double bombing in Istanbul after a football match.
In the early morning of 25 April 2017, the Turkish Air Force conducted multiple airstrikes against media centers and headquarters of the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) in northeastern Syria, and against positions of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBŞ) on Mount Sinjar, northwestern Iraq. The airstrikes killed 20 YPG and YPJ fighters in Syria in addition to five Peshmerga soldiers in Iraq.
The 2016 Cizre bombing was a suicide bombing by PKK member Mustafa Aslan in Cizre, Turkey. The assailant used a car bomb to attack a police checkpoint outside the police headquarters. Twelve police officers and Aslan were killed in addition to 75 police officers and three civilians injured.
A terrorist attack occurred on İstiklal Avenue in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, on 13 November 2022, killing 6 people and injuring 81 others.
On 1 October 2023, a suicide bombing occurred in front of the General Directorate of Security building in the Turkish capital Ankara, injuring two police officers. The bomber's companion, who was also planning to blow himself up, was shot and killed by police before he could detonate his explosive. Prior to the attack, the perpetrators reportedly hijacked a vehicle in Kayseri and killed its driver before driving to Ankara. The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack.
On 23 October 2024, seven people were killed and twenty-two people were injured in an armed attack on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in Kahramankazan, Ankara, Turkey. The two attackers were later killed. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack was widely condemned and has been considered an act of terrorism by Turkish officials. In retaliation, the Turkish military conducted airstrikes on positions in Iraq and Syria, which killed at least 12 civilians and wounded 25 more according to the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Islamic State 
