Target practice - PKK militants attack Turkish infrastructure

The increase in attacks by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partyia Karkeren Kurdistan: PKK) in Turkey marks a new phase in the group's 26-year-old insurgency, which seeks to establish a separate Kurdish state. In addition to stepping up its attacks on security forces in the mountains of southeast Turkey, the PKK has carried out bombings in the west of the country and has started targeting energy infrastructure, particularly oil and natural gas pipelines. These have been hit repeatedly since July, with the most recent attack striking the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline on 10 August.

The PKK has made it clear that its primary purpose is to cause economic losses for the Turkish state. Unlike more indiscriminate campaigns in the past, the energy infrastructure targets appear to have been carefully chosen. To date, they have all been closely associated with the Turkish state or with countries regarded as actively supporting Turkey in its military campaign against the PKK, such as Iran and Iraq.

The PKK currently appears to be choosing its energy infrastructure targets carefully. All of the targets hit since July were associated with the Turkish state or countries regarded as actively supporting the Turkish state in its military campaign against the PKK.