Operation Steel (Turkish: Çelik Harekâtı) was a cross-border operation by the Turkish Armed Forces into northern Iraq between 20 March and 4 May 1995 against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The invasion of Iraqi Kurdistan was a short term military operation and ended with both sides losing heavy casualties .[7]
The Operation
On March 20, 1995, some 100,000 Turkish troops launched an invasion into northern Iraq. The effect of the attack was however relatively limited, despite high PKK casualties, as the majority of the PKK forces fled the region to not be killed by the Turkish forces before the offensive begun. They had noticed the military buildup on the border and were anticipating the offensive. By April 25, Turkey pulled out 20,000 of its 100,000 troops. On May 3, after the Kurdistan Democratic Party delegation to Turkey said that they would stop PKK activities in Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkey withdrew its remaining forces on May 4. The military operation strained relations between Turkey and the United States and Europe, as over 15,000 Iraqi Kurdish civilians were displaced by Turkish forces.[8]
