Turkey captures ringleader of PKK, launches major airstrike campaign killing 45 members in Iraq & Syria

TRT
Fri, 12 Jan 2024 23:17 UTC

© Kurdishstruggle via Flickr

FILE: Kurdish PKK guerillas In Kirkuk, Iraq. Serhat Bal, codenamed Firat, who joined the rural ranks of the PKK terrorist organisation in 2012, was found to have been operating at a purportedly responsible level in Syria and Iraq, security sources say.

Turkish intelligence has captured a ringleader of the PKK terrorist organisation while he was preparing to flee to Europe, security sources have said.

The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) captured Serhat Bal, codenamed Firat, one of the so-called leaders of the PKK terrorist organisation, said the sources on Friday, on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

His location in a Middle Eastern country was determined by the security forces, and his activities were monitored by the Turkish intelligence for a long time, the sources added.

While he was attempting to escape from that country to Europe, the Turkish intelligence agency caught and brought him to Türkiye. He was arrested on charges of "membership in an armed terrorist organisation."

Comment: As a PKK leader, yet another terrorist organisation affiliated with the West, it's natural he would want to escape to Europe.

Bal, who joined the rural ranks of the PKK terrorist organization in 2012, was found to have been operating at a purportedly responsible level in Syria and Iraq.

PKK terrorists often hide in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK - listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US, and EU - has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Comment: Al Jazeera reports:

Turkey launches air attacks against Kurdish rebels in Iraq and Syria

Turkey has bombed multiple locations allegedly linked to Kurdish groups in Syria and northern Iraq in retaliation for the deaths of nine Turkish soldiers in Iraq, the defence ministry said.

The raids on Saturday came one day after an attack on a Turkish military base in Iraq resulted in the soldiers' deaths.

The ministry said the attacks targeted 29 locations - including "caves, bunkers, shelters and oil installations" belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Syrian Kurdish group which has been a central element in the United States-allied coalition against ISIS (ISIL).

Reuters reports at least 45 members were killed.

Map showing location of the strikes:

Turkey frequently carries out attacks against locations in Syria and Iraq that it suspects to be associated with the PKK.

The defence ministry said fighter jets struck targets in Metina, Hakurk, Gara and Qandil in northern Iraq, but did not specify which areas in Syria. It said the aim was "to eliminate terrorist attacks against our people and security forces ... and to ensure our border security".

The statement said that "many" armed fighters were "neutralised" in the attacks, a term Turkey uses to refer to killed or captured fighters.

On Friday night, attackers attempted to infiltrate a military base in northern Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region, killing five soldiers. Another four died later of critical injuries. The ministry said 15 fighters were also killed.

There was no immediate comment from the PKK, the government in Baghdad or the administration in the region.

Turkey launched Operation Claw-Lock in northern Iraq in April 2022, during which it established several bases in the Duhok governorate. Iraq has repeatedly protested against the presence of Turkish troops and called for their withdrawal.

"We will fight to the end against the PKK terrorist organisation within and outside our borders," Turkey's foreign minister Hakan Fidan posted on X.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was to hold a security meeting in Istanbul later on Saturday, said his communications director Fahrettin Altun.

Also on Saturday, 113 people were arrested for suspected links with the PKK in nationwide raids, interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X.

Continuing fighting

Three weeks ago, PKK-affiliated fighters tried to break into a Turkish base in northern Iraq, according to Turkish officials, killing six soldiers. The following day, six more Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes.

Turkey retaliated by launching attacks against sites that officials said were associated with the PKK in Iraq and Syria. Defence minister Yasar Guler said at the time that dozens of Kurdish fighters were killed in air strikes and land assaults.

It was not immediately clear if Friday night's attack and the one three weeks earlier targeted the same base.

More than 40,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict between the PKK - which maintains bases in northern Iraq - and the Turkish state since 1984.

Turkey and the US, however, disagree on the status of the Syrian Kurdish groups.

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