Omer Abdullah al-Dahham, a "senior" terrorist with the PKK/YPG was eliminated by Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in Syria, a security source said on Friday. Al-Dahham, codenamed "Abu Dahham," was plotting attacks on nearby Turkish military units. The MIT operation eliminated him in the city of Tabqa, in Syria's Raqqa.
The terrorist, who was determined to be operating at a pseudo-responsible level for terrorist teams carrying out attacks on Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) base areas in the Operation Euphrates Shield and Peace Spring zones, was tracked and closely monitored by MIT.
The counterterrorism operation came in the wake of terror attacks last weekend that killed 12 Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq. Turkish airstrikes since then have destroyed dozens of terror targets in northern Iraq and Syria and eliminated "senior" terrorists. Türkiye will reinforce its newly established permanent bases in northern Iraq in the coming months, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday.
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.
Since 2016, Ankara 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: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
