The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) carried out yet another operation against the PKK terrorist group's Syrian branch, the YPG, in Syria. Sabri Abdullah, a senior member of the terrorist group was "neutralized" in Syria’s Ain al-Arab (Kobani), security sources said Sunday.
The term "neutralized" is used to describe terrorists killed or captured in the operations.
Security sources said that Abdullah had earlier ordered attacks on Turkish cities. Ain al-Arab has been under the growing control of the PKK’s Syria wing since the civil war erupted in Türkiye’s southern neighbor. Ankara earlier announced its intention to launch counterterrorism operations into the region to clear out PKK/YPG threats to Turkish soil.
The PKK, which long used Iraq’s north as the launchpad for its attacks against Türkiye, gained a foothold in Syria’s northeast thanks to strong support from the United States. The United States provides military equipment and training to the terrorists under the pretext of fighting against Daesh, another terrorist group, to the chagrin of Ankara.
Abdullah, code-named "Mazlum Karamok," escaped injured from another MIT operation in 2018, though the terrorist group claimed he was "killed." The intelligence discovered he was alive and was plotting terrorist attacks on MIT staff, upon instructions by Fehman Hüseyin, a high-ranking member of the terrorist group. Media outlets reported that Abdullah was in Ain Al-Arab for a meeting with fellow terrorists when Turkish intelligence neutralized him.
A photo shared by media outlets shows the destroyed car Abdullah was traveling in. Abdullah joined the PKK/YPG in 2010 and orchestrated a string of motorcycle bombings targeting Syrian opposition and Turkish army elements in Syria's north.
Although the PKK lost its clout within Türkiye thanks to incessant counterterrorism operations, especially in the southeast where it exploits the Kurdish population to draw recruits, it remains a dire threat in Syria.
The MIT occasionally carries out operations in Syria to eliminate top names of the terrorist group in precision strikes.