Türkiye’s relentless fight against terrorism cornered the PKK terrorist group, security sources say. The group, which boasted clout, especially in Türkiye’s southeast, where it waged brutal attacks, is largely restrained now. Its presence in the northern parts of Iraq and Syria, right across the Turkish border, however, remains a concern.
Operations by the Turkish army, police and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) seek to drive the group to extinction. Seeking for a revival, the group aims to new sensational attacks based on meticulous preparations. To that end, it established “intelligence units” years ago. These “units” named Saziya Ewlekariya Leşkeri (SEL) gather intelligence under different names. Military support of certain Western countries, such as the United States, which openly backs PKK’s Syria wing (the YPG), helped improve the SEL operations, which conspires attacks within Türkiye, security sources note.
A pale shade of itself, the terrorist group, which carried out numerous major attacks in Türkiye’s urban centers, suffered from a lack of recruits and declining morale after continuous counterterrorism operations by Türkiye in Iraq and Syria, as well as on Turkish soil. Attacks in big cities are the preferred method of terrorists hoping to prove PKK’s “comeback” and motivate new recruits.
The SEL also runs counter-intelligence operations, as well as operations of moving terrorists between Türkiye and Syria, delivering weapons and explosives, and overseeing coordination of attacks within Türkiye. Tuesday’s operations across Türkiye against the PKK also concentrated on “sleeper cells” controlled by the SEL. It is also active in Syria in gathering intelligence and coordinating attacks in areas cleared of PKK terrorists by Turkish military operations in the past years. In addition, it serves as a “proxy” for foreign intelligence services.
Security sources say the SEL was behind the November 2022 attack on Istanbul’s busy Istiklal Street, where six people were killed, right after explosives were found installed on a garbage container on a beach in the popular tourist destination of Antalya in September 2022.
Through SEL, the terrorist group also changed tactics. Instead of employing loyal members, it uses Syrian nationals (in the regions YPG controls) who seemingly have no affiliation – with the terrorist group – on an ethnic or ideological basis. An analysis of recruits of SEL shows most of them have families in Syria, giving the terrorist group an option to blackmail recruits with the threat of harming families. They are also mostly low-profile individuals without proper education. Security sources say that along with blackmail and threats, the SEL resorts to monetary offers and a high rank in the group to recruits used in the attacks. In some cases, the terrorist group helps Syrians it hires to repay debts or settling personal feuds. Before being sent for attacks, recruits are “tried” via away “reconnaissance missions.” Every recruit is used in one mission only, while the SEL employs smuggling networks to deliver weapons and explosives to attackers.
