Brief History. The PKK was founded in 1974 as a Marxist-Leninist group seeking to establish a Marxist Kurdish state in Southeast Turkey. The group launched a guerilla war against the Turkish government beginning in 1984 that claimed as many as 35,000 lives. After a brutal crackdown by the Turkish military in the early 1990s, the group shifted from a rural insurgency strategy to urban terrorism. In 1999, Turkish authorities, acting on a tip from U.S. intelligence, captured the PKK’s charismatic leader, Abdullah Ocalan, striking a major blow against the group. Ocalan’s arrest sparked riots among Kurdish populations in parts of Europe.

Under threat of a death sentence, Ocalan advised his followers to refrain from violence and to pursue Kurdish rights peacefully. The PKK has essentially ceased its attacks as a result, and in 2000, the group formally announced its intention to use only political means to achieve the goal of rights for Turkish Kurds. The armed wing of the PKK (called the People’s Defense Forces) did not, however, disarm. The PKK first renamed itself the KADEK and then the KONGRA-GEL. In November 2003, the KADEK announced plans to dissolve itself and, according to reports, establish a "new group that would likely be pan-Kurdish and would pursue Kurdish rights through negotiations." On November 14, 2003, the U.S. State Department stated, "The PKK/KADEK, under any alias, is a terrorist organization, and no name change or press release can alter that fact."

Favored Tactics. Many PKK attacks targeted Turkish military and security forces. In addition, however, the PKK used suicide bombings, car bombings, kidnappings of foreign tourists, and attacks against Turkish diplomats in Europe. There were also attacks on symbolic representatives of the Turkish state in the Southeast, such as teachers.

Areas of Operation. The PKK has operated primarily in Turkey. The armed wing of the group apparently took refuge in the Kurdish areas of Iraq. In the past, the group maintained bases in Syria and Lebanon.

Strength and Composition. The PKK is comprised mainly of Turkish Kurds and has approximately 4,000 to 5,000 fighters, according to the State Department and other sources.

Connections With Other Terrorist Organizations. In the early 1980’s, when the PKK fled to Lebanon’s Syria-controlled Beka’a Valley, the group reportedly got its first real training alongside various Palestinian groups and with the help of Syrian intelligence. Later, the PKK reportedly provided a safe haven for the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (RPLP/F), another Turkish group, in Southeast Anatolia in the Black Sea region. The two groups signed a protocol in 1996 that would deepen cooperation between the two groups However, cooperation has apparently since broken down. (See RPLP/F entry.)

State Supporters and Other Sources of Funding. During its history, PKK reportedly received support and safe haven from Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Greece. The group also raises funds in Europe among Kurdish expatriates, some of whom accuse the Turkish government of human rights violations in its campaign against the PKK.

Originally Designated as an FTO. October 8, 1997.

Re-designated. October 8, 1999, October 5, 2001.