The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) eliminated the PKK’s so-called Iraq intelligence head during an operation in Suleymaniyah province.
The terrorist Kaya, code-named "Hasan," had plotted the assassination of diplomat Osman Köse in Irbil in 2019.
Kaya was leading a cell in Iraq that planned terrorist acts against the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) operating in northern Iraq and gathered intelligence. Kaya also organized the PKK's acts both within Türkiye and abroad.
MIT detected the terrorist members through its local intelligence network and field agents. It changed its local teams frequently to not draw attention. Within this scope, it went beyond usual intelligence techniques and even used several intelligence networks, which were not aware of each other.
Kaya, whose location was determined by the use of agents in the local intelligence network, was followed closely, especially because of the effective use of qualified human resources at MIT. The organization waited for the right moment and eliminated the terrorist in a successful operation.
The Turkish intelligence agency has stepped up its operations abroad in recent years to stamp out terrorist activities in Iraq and Syria, Türkiye’s two southeastern neighbors.
In 2022 alone, 23 senior figures of the terrorist group backed by the United States in Syria were eliminated in MIT’s operations in the two countries, while numerous PKK members were transported to Türkiye.
In its over 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women and children.
The TSK also regularly conducts cross-border operations in northern Iraq, a region where PKK terrorists have hideouts and bases, from where they carry out attacks in Türkiye.
Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock last year in April to target the PKK terrorist group's hideouts in the Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions of northern Iraq, located near the Turkish border.
It was preceded by two operations – Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle – launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.
