Kurdistan Freedom Hawks

The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) are an urban Kurdish militant group that arose after the capture of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999. Senior officials of the PKK declared a unilateral ceasefire with the Turkish state, but the publicity of Ocalan’s arrest drew a wave of recruits in Turkish cities. These new members were initially organized into an urban militant wing of the PKK. However, in 2004, this wing declared independence from the PKK, calling themselves the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) and arguing that the PKK was too pacifist. The TAK carries out urban terrorist attacks with suicide bombings and improvised explosive devices. The TAK operates in central and western Turkish cities, while the PKK has largely been active in southeastern Turkey. The Turkish government believes that the PKK are still in charge of the TAK, but the reality is likely more nuanced. The PKK provides financial, logistical, and strategic support to the TAK, but it does not directly plan attacks or give orders. The TAK’s violent actions promote the goals of the PKK without damaging its credibility. The PKK wants to retain this partial control over the TAK, but it does not wish to be directly linked to the group. After the YPG took control of northeastern Syria during the Syrian civil war, the TAK has used this region to train its soldiers and plan attacks. The Turkish invasion into Syria in October 2019 is likely to destabilize these operational bases.