Turkey on Thursday "neutralized" a senior ringleader of the terrorist group PKK in northern Iraq, near the Turkish border, according to Turkish defense sources.
Mehmet Doğan was neutralized by Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) during counter-terror operations, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
PKK terrorists often use northern Iraq, across the Turkish border, to hide out and plan attacks on Turkey.
Separately, in northern Syria, near the Turkish-Syrian border, 11 members of the terrorist PKK/YPG were also neutralized by Turkish security forces.
Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
The Turkish Armed Forces took down the terrorists after they opened harassment fire on Turkish soldiers in the Operation Peace Spring zone, an area Turkish forces cleared and patrols for terrorist elements.
"We continue to give the inevitable end to terrorists who opened harassment fire," said the National Defense Ministry on Twitter.
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 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK-listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU-has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.
