Turkish intelligence neutralizes senior PKK/YPG leader in Syria PHOTO

The Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT) has neutralized a senior figure within the YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK, in the Tal Rifaat region of Syria.

According to security sources, Yaşar Çekik, operating under the alias "Yaşar Hakkari," was placed on Türkiye's "Red List" of wanted terrorists by the Interior Ministry, Caliber.Az reports via Turkish media.

Çelik was implicated in numerous attacks targeting security forces in Türkiye, Iraq, and Syria.

Çelik joined the PKK in 1993 and played a central role in a series of high-profile attacks. In 2010, he was involved in orchestrating an assault on the gendarmerie in Hantepe, Diyarbakir province, which claimed the lives of six soldiers.

The following year, he planned and ordered two separate attacks in Çukurca, targeting the Gendarmerie Special Forces Command and the Kekliktepe military base, resulting in the deaths of 24 and one Turkish soldier, respectively.

Additionally, Çelik was listed under an Interpol Red Notice. Turkish intelligence tracked his ongoing activities in Syria’s Shahba region, leading to his neutralization in Tal Rifaat.

The operation marks another significant development in Türkiye's efforts to dismantle the leadership of PKK/YPG-affiliated groups operating within and beyond its borders.

By Aghakazim Guliyev