2008 Aktütün attack

Video screenshot of Aktütün in 2008
| Date| October 3, 2008

|

Location|

Aktütün, Şemdinli

37°2′N 44°12′E﻿ / ﻿37.033°N 44.200°E﻿ / 37.033; 44.200
Result|

Turkish victory

• PKK fails its objective to steal weapons and ammunition & is forced to retreat.
Belligerents
Turkey|  PKK
Strength
62[1]|  120–350[2][3]
Casualties and losses

17 dead

21 injured|  23 dead[4][5]

class=notpageimage|

Location within Turkey

* v
* t
* e

Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency

Timeline

* * *

First insurgency

* 1984
* Karageçit
* N Iraq (1986)
* Ortabağ
* N Iraq (1987)
* Pınarcık
* Yeşilova
* Taşdelen
* Şırnak
* Kulp
* N Iraq (1992)
* Bingöl
* Başbağlar
* Lice
* Winter campaign
* Steel
* Tokat
* Hawk
* Tunceli
* Varto
* Sazak
* Hammer
* Dawn
* Murat
* Istanbul
* Blue Market

Second insurgency

* Ankara
* Hakkâri (2007)
* N Iraq (2007)
* Aktütün
* Diyarbakır
* Sun
* Reşadiye
* İskenderun
* Hakkâri
* Istanbul
* 2011 border raid
* Hakkâri (2011)
* Roboski
* Hakkâri (2012)
* Beytüşşebap
* Şemdinli

Third insurgency

* Ceylanpınar
* Siirt bombing
* Martyr Yalçın
* Police raids
* Arslan Kulaksız
* Şırnak
* Cizre (2015)
* Cizre (2016)
* Kandil
* Hakkari
* Silvan
* Sur
* Lice
* Dürümlü
* 2015 airport bombing
* Ankara (Feb 2016)
* Ankara (Mar 2016)
* Bursa
* Istanbul (Jun 2016)
* Istanbul (Oct 2016)
* Istanbul (Dec 2016)
* N Iraq (2016)
* Elazığ
* Cizre
* Euphrates Shield
* Şemdinli
* Kayseri
* İzmir
* Airstrikes in Syria & Iraq
* Olive Branch
* Siirt raid
* Sinjar (2018)
* Gercüş
* Claw
* Peace Spring
* Claw-Eagle & Claw-Tiger
* İskenderun
* Claw-Eagle 2
* Claw-Lightning & Thunderbolt
* Sinjar (2021)
* Claw-Lock
* Zakho
* Istanbul (2022)
* Claw-Sword
* Syria (2023 June)
* Ankara (2023)
* Syria (2023 Oct)
* TAI (2024)

* * *

Serhildan

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1999
* 2001
* 2005
* 2006
* 2008
* 2009
* 2011–2012
* 2014

* * *

Peace process and peace efforts

* 1991–2004 Kurdish–Turkish peace initiatives
* 1993 Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire
* 2013–2015 Solution process

* * *

Others

* Assassinations

The 2008 Aktütün attack was a terrorist attack by PKK (Kurdistan Worker’s Party, a Marxist Leninist terrorist group as recognized by the US, EU, Turkey etc.) on conscript soldiers doing their duty at a border guard point which took place on 3 October 2008 at the Aktütün Gendarmerie Border Station in the Şemdinli district of Hakkari.

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.[6] 17 Turkish soldiers died and 21 were injured, two of them seriously, when 120 to 350 PKK members opened fire at the station with heavy weaponry from the surrounding heights. 23 PKK members were killed. During the conflict, two soldiers were reported missing and are thought to be dead.[7][8][9]

A variety of weapons were used in the attack, including anti-aircraft guns and different types of missiles. The attack was filmed by PKK 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. [10] [11]

## Conflict

[edit]

The clash started around 14:00 when PKK members surrounded the station from three different hill areas and fired on the station, and continued until midnight.[12] Various weapons, including anti-aircraft guns and different types of missiles were used by the PKK members in the attack.[12] This attack was recorded by PKK members with three different cameras and later broadcast on various websites used by the organization for propaganda purposes.[13][14][15][16] 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.[13] 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 PKK members had to retreat.[17]

## Reactions and media

[edit]

On 8 October 2008, Taraf newspaper carried a news report claiming that the raid was reported sixteen days in advance of the actual conflict and that the Turkish Armed Forces did not take the necessary precautions.[18][19][20] 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.[21][22] Chief of General Staff İlker Başbuğ 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.[23]

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.[24] 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.[24]

A lawsuit was filed against Adnan Demir, the Editor-in-Chief of the Taraf 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.[25][26]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Şafak, Yeni (2018-10-03). "Aktütün gazisi Özalp: Bayraktepe'yi teslim etmedik". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
2. ^ Şafak, Yeni (2018-10-03). "Hain saldırının üzerinden tam 10 yıl geçti". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
3. ^ "Gazetelerde bugün". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 10 May 2008. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
4. ^ Şafak, Yeni (2018-10-03). "Hain saldırının üzerinden tam 10 yıl geçti". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
5. ^ "Gazetelerde bugün". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 10 May 2008. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
6. ^ Şafak, Yeni (2018-10-03). "It's been 10 years since the treacherous attack". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
7. ^ "NTV HABER - Haberler, Son Dakika Haberleri". www.ntv.com.tr. Archived from the original on 2022-03-05. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
8. ^ "Aktütün Police Station hit for the 5th time". 2008-12-07. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
9. ^ "PKK attacked the police station: 15 martyrs". Radikal (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-03-06.
10. ^ https://www.memurlar.net/haber/175280/17-askerin-sehit-dustugu-aktutun-karakolundan-yeni-ayrintilar.html
11. ^ https://www.yenisafak.com/gundem/hain-saldirinin-uzerinden-tam-10-yil-gecti-3399650
12. ^ a b DİYARBAKIR, (DHA), Özgür CEBE/ (6 October 2008). "Hain saldırının detayları". www.hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-03-06.
13. ^ a b "Türkiye'yi şok eden Aktütün gerçeği". takvim.com.tr (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2010-08-29. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
14. ^ "17 askerin şehit düştüğü aktütün karakolundan yeni ayrıntılar". Memurlar.Net (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-03-06.
15. ^ PKK'LI TERÖRİSTLER AKTÜTÜN KARAKOLUNA SALDIRDI, archived from the original on 2022-03-06, retrieved 2022-03-06
16. ^ AKTÜTÜN KARAKOLUNA PKK TARAFINDAN YAPILAN HAİN BASKIN-BÖLÜM 2, archived from the original on 2022-03-06, retrieved 2022-03-06
17. ^ aktütün.mp4, archived from the original on 2020-08-30, retrieved 2022-03-06
18. ^ "Taraf Gazetesi | Aktütün'ü itiraf edin demiştik... Biz açıklıyoruz". 2010-01-01. Archived from the original on 2010-01-01. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
19. ^ "Taraf Gazetesi | Artık itiraf edin bu "ikinci Dağlıca"". 2009-06-20. Archived from the original on 2009-06-20. Retrieved 2022-03-06.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
20. ^ "Taraf'a yasak geldi - GÜNDEM - HABERTÜRK - Türkiye'nin En Büyük İnternet Gazetesi". 2008-10-18. Archived from the original on 18 October 2008. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
21. ^ "Son Dakika". Milliyet (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
22. ^ A.A (15 October 2008). "Broadcast bans". www.hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2022-03-06. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
23. ^ "Pasha's Prime Minister". Archived from the original on 2009-06-21. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
24. ^ a b "Aktütün Karakolu saldırısı ve Kanal 1 Haber'in kapatılması". www.sozcu.com.tr (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
25. ^ "Taraf'a Aktütün davası: 5 yıl hapis istemi - CNN TÜRK". 2014-07-07. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
26. ^ Haber7. "Gazeteci Adnan Demir beraat etti". Haber7 (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2022-03-06. Retrieved 2022-03-06.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template