The State Department's "Country Reports on Terrorism 2007," released on Wednesday, says the PKK, also known as the Kongra-Gel (KGK), was launched in 1978 as a "Marxist-Leninist separatist organization." It says the PKK has received safe haven and "modest aid" from Syria, Iraq and Iran but notes that Syria and Iran have cooperated in a "limited fashion" with Turkey against the group since 1999. In regards to its activities in Europe, the report notes that "the group maintains a large extortion, fundraising and propaganda network" there. Turkey has frequently criticized European countries for tolerating PKK fundraising and propaganda activities in their territory, although the European Union, like the US, recognizes the PKK as a terrorist organization.
The State Department report says 3,000 to 3,500 of the PKK's approximately 4,000 to 5,000 members are currently located in northern Iraq, noting that the group operates primarily in Turkey, Iraq, Europe and the Middle East. It states that the PKK, striking over the border from bases within Iraq, is "engaged in terrorist attacks in eastern and western Turkey."
The Turkish military has been hitting PKK targets in northern Iraq in air strikes and a ground operation since Dec. 16. US President George W. Bush declared the PKK a common enemy and vowed to support Turkish efforts against the terrorist group. Turkish operations in northern Iraq are backed by the US, which shares intelligence about the PKK with the Turkish military and grants airspace clearance for Turkish fighter jets taking part in cross-border air operations.
The report notes that the PKK's primary targets have been "security forces, local Turkish officials and villagers who oppose the organization in Turkey," also stating that the group has conducted "attacks on Turkish diplomatic and commercial facilities in West European cities in 1993 and again in spring 1995."
"In an attempt to damage Turkey's tourist industry, the KGK/PKK bombed tourist sites and hotels and kidnapped foreign tourists in the early-to-mid-1990s. KGK/PKK-initiated attacks rose from just five in 2000 to more than 70 in 2007. Last year was the most violent year for Turkish security forces since the 1990s, with more than 140 deaths attributed to counterterrorism related operations in eastern Turkey," says the report.
In addition to the PKK, the State Department report also cited the leftist Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) as a terrorist organization. The "vehemently anti-US, anti-NATO and anti-Turkish establishment" is believed to have several dozen terrorist operatives inside Turkey and has a large support network throughout Europe, says the report.
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