Editing Özel Harp Dairesi (section)

==Key Details==
	•	Formation: Established on September 27, 1952, under Brigadier General Daniş Karabelen, who, along with 15 other Turkish officers (including Alparslan Türkeş), was trained in special warfare by the U.S. in 1948. The STK operated out of the American Aid Delegation (JUSMATT) building in Ankara, under CIA oversight.

	•	Evolution: Renamed ÖHD in 1967 under General Cihat Akyol, it became known as the “army within the army” for its secretive operations. In 1992, due to tensions with the U.S. over Kurdish issues, Chief of Staff Doğan Güreş restructured it into the ÖKK, known as the Maroon Berets, which continues special operations today.

	•	Activities: The ÖHD was involved in the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, supporting the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT), and in counter-insurgency against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from the 1980s. It was also linked to the 1955 Istanbul Pogrom (6–7 September events), where General Sabri Yirmibeşoğlu later admitted the attacks on minorities were a “magnificent” ÖHD operation to incite anti-Greek sentiment.

	•	Controversies: The Counter-Guerrilla was accused of orchestrating political violence, including the 1977 Taksim Square massacre, the 1978 Maraş massacre, and numerous unsolved murders (1,797 reported in 1992–1993 alone). It allegedly protected groups like the Grey Wolves, responsible for thousands of deaths during the 1970s political violence.

	•	Secrecy: The ÖHD’s existence was largely unknown to Turkish civilian leadership until 1974, when Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit was informed of its operations after requesting funding, revealing its CIA-backed budget of approximately $1 million annually until 1973–74.