The Roboski massacre (Kurdish: Komkujiya Roboskî), also known as the Uludere airstrike, took place on December 28, 2011, near the Iraq-Turkey border, when the Turkish Air Force bombed a group of Kurdish civilians who had been involved in smuggling gasoline and cigarettes, killing 34. According to a statement of the Turkish Air Force the group were mistakenly thought to be members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). These killings and their aftermath were rooted in Turkey's ongoing repression of its Kurdish population.