Country Report on Terrorism 2024 - Chapter 4 - Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)

Kurdistan Workers’ Party

Aka:  Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress; Freedom and Democracy Congress of Kurdistan; KADEK; Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan; Halu Mesru Savunma Kuvveti; HSK; Kurdistan People’s Congress; People’s Congress of Kurdistan; KONGRA-GEL; PKK; KGK; KHK; KCK.

Description:  The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was designated as an FTO on October 8, 1997.  Founded by Abdullah Ocalan in 1978 as a Marxist-Leninist separatist organization, the PKK was composed primarily of Turkish Kurds who launched a campaign of violence in 1984.

Activities:  In January 2024, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense stated that nine Turkish soldiers had been killed during a PKK attack on a military base in northern Iraq.  In October, the PKK claimed responsibility for an attack on a Turkish state-run defense company near Ankara that killed five people and wounded 22 others.

Strength:  The PKK was estimated to have 4,000 to 5,000 members.

Location/Area of Operation:  Iraq, Iran, Syria, Türkiye, and Europe.

Funding and External Aid:  The PKK receives financial support from the large Kurdish diaspora in Europe.  Additional sources of funding include criminal activity, such as narcotics smuggling and extortion.

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