October 2007 clashes in Hakkâri
The October 2007 clashes in Hakkari were a series of clashes between the Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Turkish Armed Forces.
7–8 October attacks
On October 7, a large PKK force ambushed an 18-man Turkish commando unit in the Garbar Mountains of Şırnak Province on 7 October, killing 13 soldiers and wounding three. One PKK fighter was killed. Following the attack, the military shelled areas near the Iraq–Turkey border to prevent the militants from crossing into Northern Iraq.The fatalities in the October 7 ambush represent the highest death toll suffered by the Turkish military in over a decade and triggered widespread public outrage. In the days following the ambush, the Turkish press was dominated by sketches of the killed soldiers and photographs of their funerals and the grieving relatives they left behind. The ruling Justice and Development Party had long resisted calls for a military strike against the PKK camps in Northern Iraq, mainly because of opposition from the United States. As a result, many Turks hold Washington at least partly responsible for the death of any Turkish soldier killed by the PKK.
On October 9, a three and one-half hour meeting of the Supreme Anti-Terrorism Board, which comprises government ministers and military and intelligence officials, agreed to establish the necessary legal framework to take additional measures against the PKK, starting with parliamentary approval for the deployment of Turkish troops outside the country.
Some days after, the Grand National Assembly approved a measure granting Turkish troops the right to carry out an incursion into Northern Iraq.
Prior to the attack, Yaşar Büyükanıt, the Chief of the General Staff, made a verbal promise to Kim Kwan-jin, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Turkey would guarantee absolute safety for the Zaytun Division stationed at Irbil by treating Korean troops as equally as Turkish soldiers in case of cracking down on Kurdish guerrillas within the Iraqi border.
21 October attack
PKK blew up the Sharan Bridge, located in the Dağlıca Region of Yüksekova District, where steep and high cliffs and deep cliffs are located, with high explosives before the treacherous attack that shocked Turkey. Thus, PKK, who prevented the military reinforcements from coming to the region, attacked the military unit with heavy weapons about half an hour after the 35-meter-long, 6-meter-wide bridge was destroyed. Only aerial help could reach Dağlıca, which is in a deep valley with steep cliffs resembling a devil's triangle and tens of meters high. The detonator cables of the mine, which was attached to the bridge weighing tons. The PKK attackers then launched an assault on a military outpost, killing 12 soldiers and wounding 16. Eight Turkish soldiers were captured by the PKK.One of the wounded Turkish soldiers explained the attack in an interview.
"At the midnight that was connecting Saturday to Sunday, they infiltrated our unit. They were very crowded. And they came very loaded. We were 50 people on the hill. We had no chance to sleep. We were taking the hill security. We knew they were very close to us, their voices were heard. We were also listening to their radio conversations. According to what I learned from our superiors, One of us, who knew us, said, 'You can come here, this place is defenseless.' They came instantly, they came from everywhere. They especially encircled the top area. We knew they were going to come 2 days ago. There was a lot of them. We saw them on their watch duties, filling and emptying their weapons and reloading, we saw everything they were doing. There was a thermal camera and a night vision camera. We saw everything. Our guys fired 3-4 mortars eight kilometers to the other side."
"I guess the number of people who came was over 150. Because they circled three regions. We were all awake. It started at 12.30 AM at night. At a quarter to 4 o'clock the Cobra helicopters arrived. Until that hour, we always tried to defend. We were out of ammo. I had three magazines left. I took the magazines of our martyred friends. I finished five magazines. I threw a grenade. I found an assault vest. They attacked from above and from behind. We were waiting ahead. They came from places we couldn't get in or out of. We have already identified these. They were fifteen meters ahead of me. They were speaking Kurdish or something. I've always heard their names. They had rockets. They were very solid. There were guys who even brought a couple of Doçka's. It's a very heavy weapon. They brought weapons, grenades.... 7-8 of us were martyred. We were 50 people. We dropped down to 20 people. 14 of them here in the hospital. They are healthy. The rest went with them. Or he was martyred."
"Then when the Cobras started to push, they took the children and left. I think I shot one of them. Because I heard the sound of a grenade dropping. He was ten meters above me. We were downstairs. Many of my friends died with me. I carried two of them on my back to the helicopter. When they left, we gathered the wounded from right and left. I'm injured too, but I'm fine compared to other kids. There is no problem in my health..."
The Turkish Armed Forces sent reinforcements and helicopters to the area shortly afterwards as a retaliation, 32 of the PKK militants were killed in the earlier stages of the operation.
Not far from the scene of the ambush, a minibus with a wedding party hit a landmine believed planted by the PKK. Seventeen civilians were injured and the minibus was completely wrecked. The wounded were airlifted to the Yüksekova hospital.
Counterattacks
Artillery was fired into Northern Iraq following the 21 October attacks. On early 24 October, AH-1 Cobra helicopters and F-16 Fighting Falcon jets took off of the Diyarbakır Air base and hit PKK camps as far as 50 km into Iraqi territory.Turkish commandos began a hot pursuit operation in Northern Iraq to find the eight missing Turkish soldiers. Radio chatter among PKK operatives on an open channel claimed that after their photos were taken two of the eight soldiers were taken to Arbil. The soldiers were eventually released on 4 November.
In the search and destroy operation in the vicinity of the attack area, Turkey captured 3 AK-47 assault rifles, 36 hand grenades, one RPG-7 rocket launcher, 27 rockets, 153 AK-47 cartridges, 10 AK-47 magazines and 500 grams of C-4 explosives from the area.
On 28 October, 8,000 Turkish troops with air support carried out a major operation in Tunceli Province, killing 20 PKK members.