A member of the PKK terrorist group in charge of the "youth wing" in Iran was eliminated in northern Iraq by Turkish intelligence, security sources said Thursday.

The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) located Barzan Hesenzade, code-named "Tolhildan Kandil," in a rural part of Qandil, a mountainous area known as a stronghold of the terrorist group.

Hesenzade, who joined the terrorist group in 2016, was in touch with the PKK's ringleaders Cemil Bayık and Duran Kalkan. He was involved in recruitment efforts for the PKK.

The PKK terrorist group often hides out in northern Iraq, just across Türkiye's southern border, to plot terrorist attacks in Türkiye. The Turkish military regularly conducts cross-border operations in northern Iraq. Ankara has long been stressing that it will not tolerate terrorist threats posed against its national security and has called on Iraqi officials to take the necessary steps to eliminate the terrorist group.