The Turkish Intelligence Organization (MIT) on Sunday eliminated a member of the PKK terrorist organization in northern Syria’s Ain al-Arab. The terrorist was implicated in the death of Turkish troops and personnel.
Ekrem Üstek, code-named Hayri, participated in the acts of terrorism in the southeastern Şırnak province from 2015 to 2016.
The terrorist, sought by Turkish police, has a long PKK-linked criminal record. It was also found that the terrorist spent many years in prison in the 1990s for crimes including kidnapping on behalf of the PKK, supplying explosives and ammunition, attempted murder and abducting children for recruitment purposes.
The killing of Üstek in Ain al-Arab comes as the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have been heavily targeting the border town in the past few days following a terror attack on Turkey’s Gaziantep province.
One Turkish soldier was killed in the YPG/PKK terrorist group's mortar attacks targeting Karkamış and the Köprübatı border post on Thursday. Earlier, Turkey reported that four of its soldiers and one civilian were injured in the terrorist group's attacks from Ain al-Arab.
Cross-border fire has occurred sporadically in past years during the war in Syria.
Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents – namely, the Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019) operations.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
