December 2007 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq

The December 2007 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq, by the Turkish Air Force, began on 16 December 2007, when the Turkish Military bombed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq.

December 2007 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq
Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict

3D map of the North Iraq area
DateDecember 16, 2007 – December 26, 2007
Location
northern Iraq
Result Turkish victory
Belligerents
 Turkey PKK
Strength
52 war planes 2.320-2.640 soldiers in camps
Casualties and losses
None 200 killed, thousands wounded (per Turkey)
Low casualties (per PKK)
1,800 villagers displaced from villages around Sulaymaniyah and Erbil (per UNHCR)
10 Kurdish villages destroyed and 1 Kurdish civilian killed (per PKK, denied by Turkey)

Timeline

December 16

Turkish Air Forces launched an operation against PKK targets in Qandil Mountains. According to Turkish claims, aerial bombardment and airstrikes targeting both closed areas and exposed militias resulted with deaths of 150 to 175 PKK militias.[1][2][3]

December 17

Turkish forces bombed the region for 4 hours in the second day of operation. A group of PKK militias trying to cross the border between Turkey-Iraq were also targeted.[4] To this day, operation has cost the economy of Turkey an estimated as $20,000,000.[5][3]

December 18

A campaign of aerial bombardment was launched in border regions of Şemdinli and Yeşilova to prevent more PKK militias from crossing the Turkish border.[4][3]

December 19

Airstrikes against PKK targets in region continued on December 19.[6]

December 22

Turkish bombardment in region started at 14:30 and destroyed 4 PKK camps in 2,5 hours, resulting in high casualties among PKK militias.[7][3]

December 25

Another Turkish bombardment campaign was launched near Amadiya with 4 war planes against PKK targets. PKK claims this operation actually targeted civilians and destroyed 3 Kurdish villages.[8]

December 26

Several airstrikes targeting 8 different shelters used by PKK was launched, resulting in high casualties among PKK militias.[1][4]

Casualties

Military

Turkish government claimed that up to 175 PKK militias were killed on 16 December alone and thousands of PKK militias were wounded in the operation. Other Turkish claims and estimates reported 200 deaths among PKK militias during the operation.[9][10][3] PKK denied these claims and said Turkish military only bombed civilian areas and empty lands, giving no casualties to PKK militias.[10]

Civilians

PKK claimed that Turkish war planes deliberately bombed hospitals and 10 Kurdish villages were destroyed as a result of bombardments. PKK also claimed a Kurdish women was killed by Turkish forces in the operation. Turkey denied these claims.[11][12]

United Nations High Commission for Refugees said that 1,800 villagers from villages around Sulaymaniyah and Erbil in Northern Iraq have been displaced as a result of operation.[13]

References
  1. "Geçmişten günümüze Irak'ın kuzeyine tüm harekatlar". www.hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  2. Tavernise, Sabrina (2007-12-17). "Turkey Bombs Kurdish Militants in Northern Iraq (Published 2007)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  3. "Sınır ötesi operasyonlar 1983'te başladı- CNN TÜRK - tarafsız güvenilir haberler". web.archive.org. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  4. "TSK'nın sınır ötesi operasyonları". Al Jazeera Turk - Ortadoğu, Kafkasya, Balkanlar, Türkiye ve çevresindeki bölgeden son dakika haberleri ve analizler (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  5. "PKK'ya bombalar 20 milyon dolara yağdı". www.hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  6. "19 Aralık 2007'den Önemli Gündem Başlıkları". Memurlar.Net (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  7. "TSK'den Kuzey Irak'a Bir Hava Harekatı Daha". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  8. "TSK'den Kuzey Irak'a Dördüncü Operasyon İddiası". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  9. "Turk Iraq raids 'killed hundreds'". 2007-12-25. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  10. "Genelkurmay: 200'den Fazla Hedef Vurduk". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  11. "Genelkurmay Kuzey Irak'a Kara Operasyonunu Doğruladı". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  12. "Çiçek'e Göre Operasyonda Siviller Zarar Görmedi, Peki Yerinden Edilen İki Bine Yakın İnsan?". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  13. "Operations: 20 Million Dollars and 1,800 Displaced People". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
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