Since July 21, Hakkari's Şemdinli district became the scene of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) attempt to establish dominance.[2] When on July 21 security forces checked roads near Şemdinli, following correspondence with Ankara, the military unit in the district went to the region only to see that the PKK militants had fled.[2] As the security forces returned to the military barracks, the PKK blocked roads and interrogated locals.[2] Turkish security forces found out that some PKK members had moved into the city center.[2] At the same time, around 100 militants from the Iranian border began to move to Şemdinli from two different areas. Their goal was apparently to create a "liberated area".[2] Turkish unmanned aerial vehicles then detected the mobility of the militants and relayed this information to the relevant military units.[2] The Şemdinli Regimental Command sent commandos in pursuit of the militants, who infiltrated into Turkey from the Iranian border.[2] Military units were also sent to the area. In the first clash, 20 soldiers were injured while many PKK members were killed.[2] Then, military operations were conducted targeting the militants in the city centers.