Albanian rebels ambush a convoy of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia near Tetovo, killing 10 soldiers.

The Karpalak ambush, referred to by Macedonians as the Karpalak massacre, was an attack carried out by the National Liberation Army (NLA) against a convoy of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM) near the village of Grupčin on 8 August 2001 during the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia. Ten members of the ARM's Military Reserve Force, including two officers, were killed at Karpalak and three others were wounded. The ambush was the single deadliest incident of the conflict. It was speculated that the ambush was carried out in retaliation for a Macedonian police raid in Skopje, the day before in which five NLA insurgents were killed.

The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia is the military of North Macedonia. The army is organized, prepared and trained to conduct armed struggle and combat and other actions to achieve its constitutional function of defending the independence and territorial integrity of North Macedonia. The army consists of the ground forces and the air force, which are further divided into branches and services. The army has a permanent composition and reserve forces. Since 2005, it is a fully professional defense force compatible with NATO standards. On 27 March 2020, North Macedonia joined NATO as the 30th member.

Tetovo is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of 1,080 km² (417 sq mi) at 468 meters (1,535 ft) above sea level, with a population of 63,176, making it the country's fifth largest city. The city of Tetovo is the seat of Tetovo Municipality.

August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 145 days remain until the end of the year.