The 70th Mechanized Infantry Brigade ( tr, 70. Mekanize Piyade Tugayı) is a
brigade of the
Turkish Army based in the
Southeastern Anatolia Region at the town of
Kızıltepe in
Mardin Province. It is part of the Army's 7th Corps based at
Diyarbakir.
The brigade appears to be a descendant of the 70th Infantry Brigade, which in 1974, according to the reports of the British Defence Attache in
Ankara, was based in
Siirt and was part of 7th Corps. According to the same reports, at the time, 7th Corps comprised 70th Infantry Brigade alongside the 20th Mechanized Infantry Brigade at
Urfa and the 16th Mechanized Infantry Brigade at
Diyarbakır.
The brigade in Kızıltepe is headquartered at the Selen Barracks and consists of the 8th Mechanized Infantry Regiment, which has three border battalions in
İdil
İdil ( syr, ܐܙܟ, Azakh, or ''Beth Zabday'', ku, Hezex, ar, آزخ, Azekh) is a city and district in Şırnak Province in southeastern Turkey. It is located in the historical region of Tur Abdin.
In the city, there is a Syriac Orthodox ...
,
Nusaybin and
Şenyurt at the
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
n border. In March 1983, the battalions were deployed to Nusaybin, and then were stationed in the districts of Mardin Province with the headquarters in
Midyat
Midyat ( ku, Midyad, Syriac: ܡܕܝܕ ''Mëḏyaḏ'', Turoyo: ''Miḏyoyo'', ar, مديات) is a town in the Mardin Province of Turkey. The ancient city is the center of a centuries-old Hurrian town in Upper Mesopotamia. In its long history, the ...
.
7th Corps subunits
Kemalettin Eken previously commanded the corps many years ago.
On 8 August 2006,
Hurriyet reported that a new tactical border Infantry Division was being established; a decision had been taken to form the 3rd Tactical Infantry Division in the district of Yuksekova.
Hurriyat noted that Hakkari is already the home to the Mountain Warfare Commando Brigade, the Provincial Gendarmerie Regimental Headquarters, the Yuksekova Brigade, the Semdinli Tactical Regimental Headquarters and the Cukurca Tactical Regimental Headquarters, and so it said that important changes were being undertaken at the headquarters in order to ensure that the units worked more effectively and with better coordination.
[Saygi Ozturk: "New Division Formed for Border", Hurryet in Turkish 8 August 2006, p.18.] Command of this newly formed division has been given to Maj Gen Yurdaer Olcan.
Units circa 2010:
*3rd Tactical Infantry Division (
Yüksekova)
**34th Border Brigade (
Şemdinli
Şemdinli ( ku, Şemzînan, script=Latn, syr, ܫܲܡܙܕܝܼܢ, Šamzdīn) is a town and district located in the Hakkari Province of southeastern Turkey. It was previously in the Ottoman Vilayet of Van and the district centre was called Nevşehi ...
)
**16th Mechanized Brigade (
Diyarbakir)
**20th Armored Brigade (
Şanlıurfa)
**70th Mechanized Infantry Brigade (
Mardin
Mardin ( ku, Mêrdîn; ar, ماردين; syr, ܡܪܕܝܢ, Merdīn; hy, Մարդին) is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on ...
)
***8th Mechanized Infantry Regiment (
Kızıltepe)
**172nd Armored Brigade (
Silopi
Silopi ( ku, Silopî) is a city and district of Şırnak Province in Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region, close to the borders of Iraq and Syria. The majority of its people are of ethnic Kurds. The district, composed of Silopi center, thre ...
)
**2nd Motorized Infantry Brigade
**6th Motorized Infantry Brigade (Akçay)
**
3rd Commando Brigade
3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen from ...
(
Siirt)
***107th Field Artillery Regiment (
Siverek
Siverek (from hy, Սեւավերակ, lit=black ruins, translit=Sevaverag, ku, Sêwreg) is a city and district in the south-east of Turkey, in Şanlıurfa Province. Population 107,634 (city); 247,000 (district) (2000 census). Siverek is in Şanl ...
)
**
Hakkari Mountain and Commando Brigade
The 5th Commando Brigade, more commonly known as the Hakkari Mountain and Commando Brigade ( Turkish: ''Hakkâri Dağ ve Komando Tugayı''), stationed in Hakkâri Province in southeastern Turkey, founded as a battalion of the 1st Commando Brigad ...
(
Hakkari)
References
Brigades of Turkey
Military in Mardin
Kızıltepe District
Mechanised brigades
{{mil-unit-stub