the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear | an ethnic Kurdish group of Sunni extremists formed in the late 1980s in southeastern Turkey; seeks to replace Turkey's secular regime with an Islamic state and strict shariah law; responsible for bombings and the torture and murder of Turkish and Kurdish journalists and businessmen; receives support from Iran |