Turkish intelligence kills senior PKK member in Iraq

Turkey's National Intelligence Organisation killed a senior member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in an operation in northern Iraq, the media reported

Ankara: Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) killed a senior member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in an operation in northern Iraq, the media reported.

Kadri Encu, code-named “Dogan,” was “neutralised” in Iraq’s Gara region, the semi-official Anadolu Agency quoted anonymous security sources as saying. The PKK member joined the group’s rural ranks in 2006 and was trained in the Zap region. He was responsible for the transfer of group members and weapons between Iraq and Syria, said the sources.

---

He was providing the routes, as well as arms and munitions for the group’s members in northern Iraq’s Gara, Zap, Metina and Haftanin regions, aimed at carrying out attacks in Turkey’s “Operation Claw-Lock” zone, the sources added. He was also involved in the activities of the group’s foreign relations, Anadolu reported.

The Turkish intelligence agency has stepped up its operations abroad in recent years to stamp out “terrorist” activities in Iraq and Syria, Turkey’s two southeastern neighbours, Xinhua news agency reported. On Sunday, the Turkish military killed two militants of the PKK in the “Operation Claw-Lock” zone in a separate operation, the Turkish Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Trkiye launched the cross-border Operation Claw-Lock against the PKK militants in April 2022. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US, and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades.