The Turkish People Liberation Army (TPLA), a leftist terrorist organization formed in the early 1970s, engaged in a series of terrorist actions, including high-profile kidnappings (many of which left the victims dead) and political assassinations.   TPLA was formed by students at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey.  Several of the group leaders were of Kurdish origin and the group was led early on by Deniz Gezmi&#351;.  At the core of its beliefs, TPLA believed that the United States of America held undue influence within Turkey.  Thus, TPLA aimed to cleanse the Middle East Technical University of characteristics it deemed "American."  However, the TPLA did not limit its scope to just the university.  The TPLA also aimed to "cleanse" all of Turkey from American imperialism, as represented in U.S. businessmen, diplomats, and Turkish collaborators to the U.S. The TPLA's strategy was to create a safe haven for themselves in southeastern Turkey, form which other like-minded terrorists or foreign governments would join in the struggle. <P><br /><br />The TPLA commenced terrorist activities in January 1971, carrying out several high-profile attacks, including the murders of U.S. servicemen and NATO radar technicians.  The group also bombed a U.S. consulate and hijacked an airliner.

In the March 1972 kidnapping of three NATO workers, ten TPLA kidnappers were killed in a counterattack by the government forces.  While this damaged the group's operational capability, TPLA continued to engage in intermittent terrorist attacks throughout the 1970s.  However, TPLA is no longer an active terrorist entity.

Turkish People's Liberation Front (TPLF) (THKP-C)

Mahir Cayan Suicide Group -- Supported Cause

Turkish People's Liberation Party-Front (TPLP-F)

The Turkish People's Liberation Front (TPLF) was an influential terrorist organization within Turkey's leftist movement that plagued Turkey in the late 1960s/early 1970s.  Remnants of this terrorist movement are still present in Turkey.  TPLF, also known as the Turkish People's Liberation Party-Front (THKP-C), emerged from the Revolutionary Youth movement (Dev Genc) in the early 1970s.   Formed by Mahir &Ccedil;ayan, THKP-C would soon splinter off into three separate terrorist organizations, which would give rise to even more terrorist splinter groups.  <P><br /><br />THKP-C believed that the United States was an imperial power that exploited Turkey.  It was the group's objective to rid Turkey of U.S. imperialism and "fascism."  THKP-C would use terrorist attacks to remove U.S. presence and any other vestiges of "oligarchy," whether by the U.S. or those within Turkey.  The group would then install a Marxist-Leninist government in Turkey.  THKP-C's terrorist activities included bombing attacks on the Turkish offices of U.S. businesses, assassinations of U.S. servicemen and the kidnapping and subsequent murder of an Israeli diplomat.