Operation Hammer ( tr, Çekiç Harekâtı) was a cross-border operation by the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...

into northern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

between 12 May and 7 July 1997 against the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...

(PKK). The operation's objectives were to destroy PKK units in northern Iraq, to strengthen

Massoud Barzani Masoud Barzani ( ku, ,مه‌سعوود بارزانی, translit=Mesûd Barzanî}; born 16 August 1946) is a Kurdish politician who has been leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979, and was President of the Kurdistan Region of ...

Kurdistan Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party ( ku, Partiya Demokrat a Kurdistanê; پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Gov ...

in its ongoing

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

with

Jalal Talabani Jalal Talabani ( ku, مام جەلال تاڵەبانی, translit=Celal Talebanî; ar, جلال طالباني ; 1933 – 3 October 2017) was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the sixth president of Iraq from 2006 to 2014, as well as ...

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK; ku, یەکێتیی نیشتمانیی کوردستان, translit=Yekîtiya Nîştimanî ya Kurdistanê) is a political party active in Kurdistan Region and the disputed territories in Iraq. The PUK describe ...

in the hope that the KDP would prevent further PKK raids into Turkey, and to counter Iranian influence in the region as Turkey accused

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

of supporting the PKK, and over 2,000 Iranian forces had entered

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also incl ...

that year to aid the PUK. The operation ended unsuccessfully and it led to another operation,

Operation Dawn (1997) Operation Dawn ( tr, Şafak Harekâtı) was a cross-border operation by the Turkish Armed Forces (in conjunction with the forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party) into northern Iraq between 25 September and 15 October 1997 against the Kurdista ...

Conflict

Some 30-50,000 Turkish forces entered Iraq on 14 May in response to an appeal by the

for support in its offensive against the PKK. On 19 May, the KDP launched a military operation to evacuate all PKK fighters from their capital in Arbil, which turned into a major battle in which 53 KDP and 58 PKK fighters were killed. In response the PKK ordered four suicide bombings from 1 to 11 June which resulted in the death of 55 KDP fighters. By 7 July, when Turkish forces withdrew, over 2,000 PKK and at least 200 KDP forces had been killed. The operation drew strong condemnation from

and

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 ...

Casualties

More than 30,000 troops took part in the initial operation. Turkey announced fatalities at a total of 114 personnel, comprising 14 commissioned officers, 4 non-commissioned officers, 75 soldiers and 21

village guards Village guards ( tr, Korucular lit. "Rangers"), officially known as ''Türkiye Güvenlik Köy Korucuları'' ("Security Village Guards of Turkey"), are Gendarmerie General Command-aligned Border guards involved in the Kurdish-Turkish conflict, mos ...

. Turkey announced the injured at a total of 185 personnel, comprising 24 commissioned officers 17 non-commissioned officers, 338 soldiers and 48

. Turkey announced the total number of militants neutralized at a total of 3,145 with 2,730 being killed and 415 being captured live or injured. Turkey launched another large-scale operation in September known as Operation Dawn.

International reaction

*Iran: The Iranian government condemned the invasion "as not only a violation of all international laws but the sovereign rights and territorial integrity of the Iraqi Muslim nation" and denounced Turkish claims of Iranian support for the PKK as "a joint conspiracy by the Turkish military and Israel."

References

External links

* {{Turkey–Kurdistan Workers Party conflict 1997 in Turkey 1997 in Iraq Conflicts in 1997 Cross-border operations of Turkey into Iraq History of the Kurdistan Workers' Party

Conflict

Casualties

International reaction

See also

References

External links