Turkish forces 'neutralize' 3 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq

Turkey's PKK Conflict: A Visual Explainer

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Context: Turkey'due south conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) – recognised equally a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – continues in south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq. In northern Syria, Ankara and the PKK's Syrian affiliate, the People's Protection Forces (YPG), remain pitted against each other. On the home forepart, the authorities is pursuing crackdown on the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) against which a political party closure case is ongoing.

Analysis: Prospects for not-violent ways forrard look bleak amid uncertainty in Syrian arab republic, Iraq and the Turkish political leadership's reliance on support from nationalists at abode.

In July 2015, a two-and-a-one-half twelvemonth long armistice broke down, and the almost four-decade long disharmonize between Turkish security forces and militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) – recognised as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.Due south. and the EU – entered one of its deadliest chapters in virtually four decades.

Since that date, violence has devastated communities in Turkey's majority-Kurdish s eastward and – at times – struck into the heart of the country'south largest metropolitan centres. An unprecedented flare-upwards of fighting and attacks in some southward-eastern urban districts in the get-go half of 2016, was followed by a gradual shift of violence into rural areas.

International Crisis Group has assembled a database of fatalities caused by this conflict since 2011. Our data is based on information available in open sources, including reports from Turkish language media, the Turkish military, local Kurdish rights groups, and the PKK itself. This platform presents some of the information that tin be gleaned from this data. For our latest detailed analysis that besides draws on this information, click here.

Co-ordinate to Crisis Grouping'southward fatality tally, terminal updated on 18 July 2022,

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Civilians

Confirmed by Crisis Grouping as non-combatants, the overwhelming majority of these individuals have been killed in urban clashes in the southward east or in PKK bomb attacks in metropolitan centres. (Crunch Grouping includes only named fatalities confirmed through its open up-source methodology).

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State Security Force Members

Fatalities include soldiers, police officers and hamlet guards (paramilitary groups comprised of ethnic Kurds, armed and paid by the Turkish state). For a detailed breakdown of state security force fatalities, see below.

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Individuals of Unknown Amalgamation

Individuals aged xvi-35 killed in areas of clashes, overwhelmingly in urban curfew zones who cannot be confirmed as either civilians or combatants. These individuals cannot exist positively identified as civilians or members of plainclothes PKK youth militias due to the blurred line betwixt noncombatant and militant in an urban conflict setting.

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PKK Militants

Members of the PKK and affiliates active in Turkey. Crisis Grouping assumes that full PKK fatalities are higher than this public tally. Ankara says that more than than ten thou militants accept been "neutralised" (either killed, captured or surrendered) since the resumption of hostilities in July 2015. Crisis Group figures should not be seen as a refutation of fatality claims fabricated by the Turkish government. Run into "Methodology and Terminology" section.

The fatality charge per unit in Turkey'south PKK conflict peaked in the winter of 2015/2016. At this time, the conflict was full-bodied in a number of majority-Kurdish urban districts in Turkey'southward s east. In these districts,  PKK-backed youth militias had erected barricades and trenches to merits control of territory. Turkish security forces reestablished control in these urban centres in June 2016.

The state security force-to-PKK militant fatality ratio is a skilful indicator of the changing power residue in the battlefield. The rate of PKK militants killed per 1 state security forcefulness member saw a more than than four-fold increase since July 2015.

Mapping Fatalities and Hometowns

While fatalities since July 2015 remained largely confined to provinces in Turkey'south south east, the hometowns of security strength and PKK militant deaths illustrate the conflict's broader bear on on communities around Turkey.

People attend the funeral ceremony of a Turkish soldier on xiii Nov 2018 in Bursa. ANADOLU/Ali Atmaca

Use maps to view fatality rates, dates for provinces and those districts with 100+ fatalities, as well as hometowns (province-level) for state security strength and PKK militant deaths.

Fatalities Map

Hometowns Map

Click on fatality locations (reddish dots) to view hometowns (province-to-province) of state security force members and PKK militants

Breakdown by Fatality Categories

Smoke rising from a police station in Şırnak'southward Cizre commune after a PKK-claimed bomb attack killed xi police and injured 78 individuals in August 2016. AFP/STR

Since July 2015, militant attacks and clashes with the PKK have killed at least ane,360 security force members, including 937 soldiers, 302 police officers, and 121 hamlet guards (paramilitaries comprised past indigenous Kurds armed and funded by the Turkish state).

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have killed 548 of all state security strength members since the finish of the ceasefire. An additional 54 were killed by urban snipers, while 112 were killed in attacks involving rocket propelled grenades. All other deaths occurred during militant attacks or clashes which were not described in detail in media reports or official military announcements.

The boilerplate age of members of the state security forces killed since July 2015 is 29.

At least 600 civilians, and 226 "individuals of unknown amalgamation" were killed since July 2015.

The names of an additional forty individuals who were allegedly killed during the urban stage of the conflict accept been released past local Kurdish rights groups, but cannot be confirmed through Crisis Grouping's open up-source methodology. These fatalities are recorded equally "unconfirmed" deaths past Crisis Group.

The death of 3,878 PKK militants have been confirmed past Crisis Group since July 2015. Confirmation of militant fatalities is complicated because the PKK often reports the deaths of its members weeks, months, or even years later on they are killed in fighting.

At least iii,334 members of the People's Defence force (HPG), the PKK's primary armed wing, have been killed since July 2015. 537 militants of the Civil Protection Units (YPS), a loose network of PKK urban youth militias, and 7 members of the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a PKK affiliate (considered an "offshoot with no operational ties to the PKK" by some researchers) responsible for attacks in western Turkey, were killed over the aforementioned time period.

Around 25 per cent of PKK militants (including all of the above groups) killed since July 2015 are female person.

The percentage of seasoned PKK militants (classified equally "commanders" by the People's Defence Forces (HPG) or given substantial battleground roles) killed has been steadily ascension. Crunch Group could confirm the expiry of 359 seasoned militants since July 2015.

Changing Theatre of Conflict

Following an unprecedented flare-up in south-eastern urban districts toward the end of 2015 and in the first half of 2016, the disharmonize gradually moved into rural areas. Prior to the 2015 outbreak, this is where fighting has been most full-bodied.

A military helicopter belonging to the Turkish military approaches for landing during an operation against the PKK in rural areas of Hakkari, in December 2016. ANADOLU Agency via AFP/Ozkan Bilgin

Fatalities before 2015

Crunch Grouping has recorded fatalities since 2011. Our tally shows that scattered violence continued throughout March 2013 and July 2015. During this time, the PKK had declared a unilateral armistice and the Turkish authorities was in talks with the PKK in what Ankara called a "resolution process".

Kurdish youth clashing with Turkish police in Diyarbakır, in June 2014. AFP/Ilyas Akengin

Methodology and Terminology

A woman looks through a window of her ruined business firm in Cizre district, on 8 March 2016. AFP/Ilyas Akengin

Visualisation of information related to deadly disharmonize helps Crunch Group analysts empathise its complication. We believe it can assist other advocates, likewise, also every bit policymakers and others direct involved in mitigating the touch on of conflict or resolving it.

Crisis Group has worked to identify all fatality claims made in the PKK conflict in Turkey since 2011, when information technology began keeping an open-source fatality database. To ensure accuracy amongst a rapid escalation of violence, Crisis Group has also worked to place the names of all fatalities since July 2015. Just fatalities that tin be named are included in the postal service-July 2015 tally. Names are confirmed through searches of news reports or social media postings for basic biographical data, unique photos, funeral reports and by ways of media interviews with the victim'southward relatives or friends.

Crisis Grouping values feedback and incorporates it into updates to this and other information visualisations. Please send data and inquiries to media@crisisgroup.org

We do non share the complete source dataset with third parties.

Click to read more about information collection and verification methods for:

State Security Force Members

Turkey'due south state security strength members are composed of soldiers, law officers and hamlet guards. Crunch Grouping uses press reports of funerals and official announcements by the Turkish Armed Forces to verify fatalities in this category. In improver to individuals killed in straight clashes with PKK militants, security forcefulness deaths include security officials targeted every bit such, but slain while off duty. Crunch Group does not count traffic accidents, suicides or other non-conflict fatalities unless they are explicitly linked to security operations.

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Civilians and Individuals of Unknown Affiliation

Noncombatant deaths are checked by Crunch Grouping via reports in Turkish-linguistic communication press, equally well as by reports from local human rights groups, including the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TIHV) which has a potent track record as dependable sources of named fatalities.

Those fatality claims are subsequently confirmed past Crisis Group, which considers an individual a civilian if they can be affirmed equally non-combatants by printing reports or other sources, if their age or other factors fabricated their participation in armed hostilities unlikely, or/and if they died outside an active disharmonize zone.

The line between civilian and combatant has been blurred by the emergence of plainclothes PKK youth militias in urban areas throughout the south east, in detail betwixt December 2015-June 2016. As a consequence, some individuals could not be positively identified as civilians, though they likewise remain unclaimed by the PKK or its affiliates. Crisis Group classifies  individuals between the ages of 16 and 35 killed in areas of armed clashes and not identifiable as either civilians or combatants as "individuals of unknown affiliation".

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PKK Militants

Militants are identified through reports from the Turkish language press or from media outlets straight affiliated with the People'south Defense Force (HPG) -- the virtually active military fly of the PKK in Turkey; the Civil Protection Units (YPS); and the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) -- the PKK affiliate (considered an "offshoot with no operational ties to the PKK" by some researchers), all of which release names and biographies of killed militants.

Confirmation of militant deaths is limited past the PKK's practice, the reasons for which are unknown, to sometimes denote the names of dead militants weeks, months, or even years later on they are killed, adding a delay to the PKK militant fatality count.

Turkish officials claim that over 10,000 PKK militants were "neutralised" since July 2015. Crisis Group only counts fatalities which tin can be confirmed through its open-source methodology, and its numbers should non be seen as a refutation of fatality claims made past the Turkish government.

The verbal day of death cannot be established for over 100 confirmed fatalities, including civilians, "individuals of unknown affiliation" and PKK militants. These individuals overwhelmingly died in urban areas under prolonged curfews or in remote mountainous regions, and just the calendar week or month of their deaths can be identified by Crunch Group. In the Crisis Group database, their names are added to the last mean solar day of each identified week or calendar month.

Crunch Group classified equally seasoned those PKK militants the HPG announced as "commanders" or attributed substantial battlefield roles to (ie, leading a grouping of militants in the battlefield, being responsible for operations in a certain location). Where bachelor, data for seasoned militants was cross-checked with militants' date of joining, age and whether they were classified equally "senior" in Turkish-language news. Militant fatalities announced as senior past the Turkish war machine, just non classified as such by the HPG were not included.

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Source: https://www.crisisgroup.org/content/turkeys-pkk-conflict-visual-explainer

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