Türkiye announces ‘neutralisation’ of Kurdish KCK leader in Iraq bombing

Turkish forces have “neutralized” 40 “terrorists” in the last week

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The Turkish government announced on Monday the “neutralization” of the Iranian representative to the Kurdistan People’s Confederation (KCK), Saliha Akbiyik, alias ‘Nujiyan Amed’, in an attack in Iraq. Another eight members of the PKK have been “neutralized” in Turkish military actions in Syria in recent hours.

Security sources cited by the official Turkish news agency Anatolia have indicated that the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) has carried out a targeted attack in the Iraqi region of Suleimaniya, bordering Iran.

Sources have indicated that Akbiyik was being followed by MIT field agents and have stressed that she had been active in the organization since 1993.

The Turkish Ministry of Defence has also reported the “neutralisation” of eight “terrorists” in operations in the Euphrates Shield region in northern Syria. “We did not allow the creation of a terror corridor in our south and we will not allow it!” the ministry warned.

The Turkish government uses the term “neutralized” to mean that suspects have been killed, captured or surrendered to authorities.

The KCK, which represents all Kurdish regional organisations in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, has not yet commented on the reports published by Turkish media. Turkey considers the KCK to be part of the armed group Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union (EU) and the United States.

The Turkish military has stepped up its operations against the PKK both in the country and in northern Iraq since a ceasefire between the government and the armed group broke down in July 2015.

The ceasefire collapse came shortly after the government and guerrillas signed the so-called Dolmabahce accords to advance peace talks and after the historic entry of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) into the Turkish parliament. More than 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, have been killed since the PKK took up arms against government forces in 1984.

On Friday, the Ministry of Defense reported that 40 “terrorists” had been killed in the past week, and that 1,868 “terrorists” had died since the beginning of this year. This figure includes members of the PKK as well as members of the Islamic State and other groups labeled as terrorists by Ankara.