Turkish intelligence kills senior YPG member in N. Syria

Turkish intelligence

ANKARA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization has killed a senior member of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) during an operation in northern Syrian Qamishli city, the Turkish media reported Monday.

The killed senior YPG member was identified as Muzdelif Taskin, who was accused of being the mastermind behind the 2007 terror attack in the Daglica village of the southeastern Hakkari province, killing 12 soldiers and injuring 16 others, according to the Turkish media.

Taskin was the general public order officer of the YPG, which Ankara considered to be the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the Turkish media said, citing an unnamed security source.

Taskin, codenamed "Aslan Cele" or "Aslan Samura," joined the PKK's rural ranks in 1988 and later crossed from Iraq to Syria.

The Turkish intelligence agency has stepped up its operations abroad in recent years to stamp out terrorist activities in Syria and Iraq, Türkiye's two southeastern neighbors.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the EU, has rebelled against the Turkish government for over three decades.