The 2008 Aktütün attack was a

PKK The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurdish militant political organization and armed gue ...

attack on Turkish conscript soldiers that occurred on 3 October 2008 at the Aktütün Gendarmerie Border Station in the

Şemdinli district Şemdinli District is a district in the Hakkâri Province of Turkey. The district had a population of 44,742 in 2023 with the town of Şemdinli as its seat. Its area is 1,209 km2. The district was established in 1936. Part of the district wa ...

Hakkari Hakkari or Hakkâri may refer to: *Hakkari (historical region), a historical region in modern-day Turkey and Iraq *Hakkâri (city), a city and the capital of Hakkâri Province, Turkey *Hakkâri Province Hakkâri Province (, ; ), is a province i ...

. The conflict took place at the 13th Gendarmerie Border Company Command, which is 4 kilometers from the Iraqi border and 40 kilometers from the Iranian border. 17 Turkish soldiers died and 21 were injured, two of them seriously, when 120 to 350

members opened fire at the station with heavy weaponry from the surrounding heights. 23

members were killed. During the conflict, two soldiers were reported missing and are thought to be dead. A variety of weapons were used in the attack, including anti-aircraft guns and different types of missiles. The attack was filmed by

members with three separate cameras and later published on various websites used by the organization for propaganda purposes.The footage includes footage of the PKK members armed with mules and members of the organization before the attack, the attack on the police station, and even how they crossed the Turkish border.

Conflict

The clash started around 14:00 when

members surrounded the station from three different hill areas and fired on the station, and continued until midnight. Various weapons, including anti-aircraft guns and different types of missiles were used by the

members in the attack. This attack was recorded by PKK members with three different cameras and later broadcast on various websites used by the organization for propaganda purposes. Before the attack, there are sections showing how the PKK members crossed the Turkish border to the region, the attack on the border station, and even how they crossed the Turkish border. In the evening hours, PKK members went closer to the border station and recorded different images there, and tried to infiltrate the border station with the aim of seizing the weapons and ammunition of the Turkish security forces in the border station. However, as a result of the intense fire and resistance of the Turkish security forces at the border station, the

members had to retreat.

Reactions and media

On 8 October 2008'',

Taraf ''Taraf'' ("Side" in Turkish) was a liberal newspaper in Turkey. It had distinguished itself by opposing interference by the Turkish military in the country's social and political affairs. It was distributed nationwide, and had been in circula ...

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

carried a news report claiming that the raid was reported sixteen days in advance of the actual conflict and that the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

did not take the necessary precautions. In the news, which also included satellite images, it was claimed that the Internal Security Operation status reports and instant intelligence information transmitted by unmanned aerial vehicles informed the General Staff of the Aktütün raid a month ago. Thereupon, the Military Court of General Staff imposed a broadcast ban on Taraf's news. Chief of General Staff

İlker Başbuğ Mehmet İlker Başbuğ (; born 29 April 1943) is a Turkish former general who served as the 26th Chief of the General Staff of Turkey. He was charged with contravention of Articles 309, 310, and 311 of the Turkish Penal Code. In August 2013, he ...

gave a very harsh statement by holding a press conference. "I urge everyone to be careful and be in the right place," he said in a statement to the press. In the same evening, one of the three photographs revealed by the coordinates of the photographs, published in the main news bulletin of Kanal 1 and Star TV and by writing the coordinates of the photographs in the satellite observation program Google Earth, showed Aktütün and Bayraktepe. The party stood by its claims and stated that the region between 37 and 02-23 north parallel and 44-12-44 east meridians points to a point a little more than 1 kilometer away from Aktütün, and this can be understood when checked in Google Earth program. 1 denied the allegations. A lawsuit was filed against Adnan Demir, the Editor-in-Chief of the

newspaper, who was accused of "disclosure of prohibited information" belonging to the General Staff, with a demand for imprisonment between 3 and 5 years. Adnan Demir was acquitted of the case.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aktütün attack, 2008 Conflicts in 2008 Terrorist incidents in Turkey in 2008 October 2008 in Turkey October 2008 in Iraq 2008 in Iraqi Kurdistan Turkey in the Iraq War Kurdistan Workers' Party attacks October 2008 crimes in Asia Attacks on military installations in 2008 Attacks on military installations in Turkey Şemdinli District History of Hakkâri Province Cross-border operations