Sazak assault

Sazak assault
Part of Kurdish–Turkish conflict and DHKP/C insurgency in Turkey
Date1997[1]
Location
Reşadiye, Tokat Province, Turkey
Result PKK ambush succeeded
Belligerents
 Turkey PKK[1]
DHKP/C[1]
TKP-ML[1]
Casualties and losses
4 killed[1] None

The Sazak assault was an ambush carried out in 1997, in the Sazak neighbourhood of Reşadiye, in Turkey's Tokat Province. Four Turkish soldiers were killed in the ambush and although no group immediately claimed responsibility, the attack was later revealed to have been a joint operation by three Communist guerrilla groups: the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (DHKP-C) and Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (TKP-ML).[1]

The soldiers were returning to their outpost after a patrol and had only 1.3 kilometers left to travel when they were ambushed by a joint force of Kurdish PKK and Turkish DHKP-C and TKP-ML insurgents. Four soldiers were killed in the ambush and due to the heavy fog, all insurgents managed to escape.[2]

That same year period the PKK and DHKP-C were also involved in a joint attack on a local flour factory in Tokat, which killed 3 Turkish officials.[3] Twelve years later, a similar attack was carried out in the same area, which left 7 soldiers dead[1] and 3 injured.[4]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Today's Zaman Tension high as heinous attack leaves unanswered questions behind Archived 2011-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Gov’t poised to finalize reform package despite provocations
  3. ^ Turkish Press Review, 97-07-09
  4. ^ Hürriyet Between hearts and minds