The soldiers were returning to their outpost after a patrol and had only 1.3 kilometers left to travel when they were ambushed by a joint force of Kurdish PKK and Turkish DHKP/C and TKP-ML insurgents. Four soldiers were killed in the ambush and due to the heavy fog, all insurgents managed to escape. That same year period the PKK and DHKP/C were also involved in a joint attack on a local flour factory in Tokat, which killed 3 Turkish officials. Twelve years later, a similar attack was carried out in the same area, which left 7 soldiers dead and 3 injured.