Turkey: Turkish soldiers wounded in PKK attack

Event

On Monday, July 17, a Turkish military vehicle was blown up in an improvised bomb attack by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), injuring 17 soldiers. The blast occurred in Yuksekova district of Hakkari, a province which borders Iran and Iraq.

Context

The PKK was formed in the late 1970s and launched an armed struggle against the Turkish government in 1984, calling for an independent Kurdish state within Turkey. Since then, more than 40,000 people have died during the conflict with the Turkish government, which reached a peak in the mid-1990s. Although a ceasefire was established in March 2013, it fell apart in July 2015 when Ankara launched air strikes against PKK camps in northern Iraq. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States. Additionally, the security situation in Turkey remains generally tense amid a national state of emergency that was declared by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 20, 2016, following an attempted coup d’état by members of the armed forces.

Advice

Due to the Turkish government's ongoing conflicts with the PKK as well as the Islamic State (IS), most Western governments advise against all travel to areas along the Syrian and Iraqi borders, as well as nonessential travel to the provinces of Şırnak, Gaziantep, Diyarbakir, Mardin, Şanlıurfa, Kilis, Hatay, Siirt, Tunceli, and Hakkâri. The threat of terrorism remains present throughout Turkey, remain vigilant, report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities, and all potential protests.