Operation Steel

Operation Steel Çelik Harekâtı
Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict
Mechanized Infantry before moving into northern Iraq
Date 20 March – 4 May 1995 Location Northern Iraq Result Turkish victory [1]
Belligerents
Turkey	Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
Commanders and leaders
Hasan Kundakçı	Abdullah Öcalan
Strength
35,000+[2]	2,400-2,800[3]
Casualties and losses
64 killed 185 wounded[4][5]	555 killed 13 captured[6]

Operation Steel (Turkish: Çelik Harekâtı) was a cross-border operation by the Turkish Armed Forces into northern Iraq between 20 March and 4 May 1995 against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The purpose of offensive was to put a stop to the PKK from conducting cross-border raids onto military stations.^[7]

The Operation

On March 20, 1995, some 35,000 Turkish troops launched an invasion into northern Iraq. The effect of the attack was however relatively limited, despite high PKK casualties, as the majority of the PKK forces fled the region to not be killed by the Turkish forces before the offensive begun. They had noticed the military buildup on the border and were anticipating the offensive. By April 25, Turkey pulled out 20,000 of its 35,000 troops. On May 3, after the Kurdistan Democratic Party delegation to Turkey said that they would stop PKK activities in Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkey withdrew its remaining forces on May 4. The military operation strained relations between Turkey and the United States and Europe, as over 15,000 Iraqi Kurdish civilians were displaced by Turkish forces.^[8]

See also

• Operation Hammer (1997)
• Operation Dawn (1997)
• Iraqi Kurdish Civil War

References