Turkish intelligence eliminates top YPG/PKK terrorist in Syria
Smoke billows in Qamishli in northeastern Syria close to the Turkish border on Dec. 25, 2023, amid Turkish counterterrorism operations in the area. (AFP File Photo)


The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) eliminated a top YPG/PKK terrorist in Syria's northeastern Qamishli district, sources said Saturday.

The terrorist named Remziye Altığ, codenamed Viyan, was taken down in Qamishli, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to media.

She was responsible for the group's financial traffic and was carrying out terror activities in Syria, was tracked and closely monitored by MIT.

Altığ led demonstrations organized by the youth section of the terrorist PKK/KCK in Türkiye's southern Mersin province before 2016 and took part in the group's action planning.

The anti-terror operation came after a recent PKK terror attack that killed 12 Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq. Turkish airstrikes, since then, have destroyed dozens of terror targets in northern Iraq and Syria and neutralized senior terrorists.

PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye. It also has a Syrian branch, known as the YPG.

The YPG, the Syria wing of the PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist group by the United States, is known for receiving open support from Washington under the pretext of the "fight against Daesh."

The U.S. Army frequently provides military training and supplies to members of the PKK/YPG terrorist group in bases in Syria located in the Mount Abdulaziz region of Hassakeh as well as in the eastern al-Omar oil field and Conoco area of Deir el-Zour province, all regions occupied by the terrorists, which Washington calls its "partner forces."

Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

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