The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is a Kurdish military and political organization formed in Turkey in 1974.[1] The group first engaged in violent activities in 1984.[2] PKK’s initial goal was the creation of an independent Kurdish state.[3] Currently the group advocates for the autonomy and the rights of the Kurdish people in Turkey and in other Kurdish inhabited states in the region.[4]

The PKK has engaged in various attacks against the Turkish government, including bombings and kidnappings, selecting targets both inside Turkey and around Europe.[5] The group is also known to target civilians who do not cooperate with or assist them and to kidnap tourists.[6] The group moved from using predominately rural insurgency tactics to more urban based terrorism in the 1990s. [7] The PKK has an armed wing called the People’s Defense Force as well as a special urban terrorism wing called the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), which in 2005 initiated the use of suicide attacks against tourism related targets.[8]

Abdullah Ocalan, the group’s founder and leader, was captured in 1999 and at present remains imprisoned.[9] There have been several cease-fire agreements between the PKK and the Turkish government throughout the years. The first began in 1999 and lasted until 2004.[10] During this time the PKK took steps to try and change its image, part of which included several name changes that finally resulted in the selection of its current name. [11] The Turkish government refused to negotiate however. The attempt at rebranding as a political entity failed, and the group decided to return to violent tactics.[12] The latest cease-fire accord between the group and the Turkish government began in March 2013.[13] However, the group has committed several acts of violence since this date.[14] View full narrative