Operation Hammer (1997)

Operation Piç
	Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict and Iraqi Kurdish Civil War
	; Turkish Special Forces personnel from the 29th Special Forces Battalion 4 weeks into the operation.
Date	12 May – 7 July 1997
Location	Iraqi Kurdistan
Result	Turkish victory Operational success;
Belligerents
Turkey; Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)	Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
Commanders and leaders
Altay Tokat	Abdullah Öcalan
Strength
30,000–50,000 soldiers; 10,000 village guards	5,000–6,000 PKK fighters[non-primary source needed][page needed]
Casualties and losses
Turkey:; 114 killed, 338 wounded; KDP:; ~200 killed; Total: 314 killed	PKK:; 2,730 killed, 415 captured

Operation Hammer (Turkish: Çekiç Harekâtı) was the largest cross-border operation done in the history of Turkish Armed Forces into northern Iraq between 12 May and 7 July 1997 against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The operation's objectives were to destroy PKK units in northern Iraq, to strengthen Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party in its ongoing Civil War with Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in the hope that the KDP would prevent further PKK raids into Turkey, and to counter Iranian influence in the region as Turkey accused Iran of supporting the PKK, and over 2,000 Iranian forces had entered Iraqi Kurdistan that year to aid the PUK.^[9]

^ ^a ^b The Europa World Year: Kazakhstan – Zimbabwe. Taylor & Francis. 2004. ISBN 9781857432558. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
^ Aylin Ünver Noi, 1 July 2012, THE ARAB SPRING, ITS EFFECTS ON THE KURDS, AND THE APPROACHES OF TURKEY, IRAN, SYRIA, AND IRAQ ON THE KURDISH ISSUE Archived 17 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine, The Global Research in International Affairs Center
^ "Irak'ın kuzeyine gerçekleştirilen büyük harekatlar". 28 May 2019.
^ http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=194212
^ ^a ^b "(page 155)" (PDF). Helsinki.fi. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
^ Tokat, Altay (2013). Mücadele ve Çözüm (PKK Bölücü Terörü).^{[non-primary source needed]}^{[page needed]}
^ ^a ^b "Çekiç harekatı (12 Mayıs – 7 July 1997)". Hürriyet Daily News. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2007.
^ Chronology for Kurds in Iraq Archived 17 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, UNHCR
^ Gunter, Michael M. (1 March 1998). "Turkey and Iran Face off in Kurdistan". Middle East Quarterly. Retrieved 7 July 2017.

[KDP-1] The Europa World Year: Kazakhstan – Zimbabwe. Taylor & Francis. 2004. ISBN 9781857432558. Retrieved 11 February 2015.

[2] Aylin Ünver Noi, 1 July 2012, THE ARAB SPRING, ITS EFFECTS ON THE KURDS, AND THE APPROACHES OF TURKEY, IRAN, SYRIA, AND IRAQ ON THE KURDISH ISSUE Archived 17 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine, The Global Research in International Affairs Center

[3] "Irak'ın kuzeyine gerçekleştirilen büyük harekatlar". 28 May 2019.

[4] ttp://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=194212

[vgs-5] "(page 155)" (PDF). Helsinki.fi. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.

[mucadele-6] Tokat, Altay (2013). Mücadele ve Çözüm (PKK Bölücü Terörü).^{[non-primary source needed]}^{[page needed]}

[hurriyet1-7] "Çekiç harekatı (12 Mayıs – 7 July 1997)". Hürriyet Daily News. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2007.

[Iraq-8] Chronology for Kurds in Iraq Archived 17 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, UNHCR

[TRIR-9] Gunter, Michael M. (1 March 1998). "Turkey and Iran Face off in Kurdistan". Middle East Quarterly. Retrieved 7 July 2017.

[3]

[1]

[2]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]