Teyre Azadiye Kurdistan (TAK)

TAK, Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, Teyrênbazê Azadiya Kurdistan, Kurdistan Freedom Hawks, Kurdish Vengeance Brigade, Kurdistan Freedom Falcons Organization, Kurdistan Liberation Hawks

Turkey, Iraq

TAK is thought to be organizationally and operationally independent from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Bahoz Erdal, a Kurd of Syrian origin and a former leader within the PKK organization, is considered the leader of TAK. Little is known of its formal leadership structure.

TAK was formed in 2004, presumably by a breakaway faction of the PKK.

TAK carries out most of its attacks in densely populated cities including Istanbul and Ankara and specifically against Turkish and foreign civilians.

August 2006: TAK carried out a series of low-intensity bomb attacks in the resort towns of Marmaris and Antalya, as well as in Istanbul. The attack in Antalya killed three people and injured 20 others. The bombing in Istanbul injured 20.

July 2010: TAK bombed a military transport vehicle in Istanbul, killing four people including three soldiers and one civilian.

October 2010: A TAK suicide bomber allegedly detonated in Taksim Square in Istanbul, resulting in 32 injuries.

December 2015: TAK carried out a bombing at the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, killing one person.

February 17, 2016: The TAK claimed responsibility for the bombing in the capital Ankara. (28 killed, unknown wounded)

TAK seeks to establish an independent Kurdish state that encompasses parts of south-eastern Turkey and to redress the often violent and oppressive treatment of Kurds by the Turkish government.

Improvise explosive devices, vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED), suicide bombings, low-intensity bomb attacks.