| Operation Steel Çelik Harekâtı | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theKurdish–Turkish conflict | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Turkey |  Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Hasan Kundakçı | Abdullah Öcalan | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 100,000[2] | 2,400–5,000[3] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 64 killed 185 wounded[4][5] | 555–568 killed 13 captured[6] | ||||||
Operation Steel (Turkish:Çelik Harekâtı) was a cross-border operation by theTurkish Armed Forces into northernIraq between 20 March and 4 May 1995 against theKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The invasion ofIraqi Kurdistan was a short term military operation and ended with both sides losing heavy casualties .[7]
On March 20, 1995, some 100,000 Turkish troops launched an invasion into northernIraq. The effect of the attack was however relatively limited, despite highPKK 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 100,000 troops. On May 3, after theKurdistan Democratic Party delegation to Turkey said that they would stopPKK activities inIraqi Kurdistan, Turkey withdrew its remaining forces on May 4. The military operation strained relations between Turkey and theUnited States andEurope, as over 15,000 IraqiKurdish civilians were displaced by Turkish forces.[8]
