Turkish intelligence kills senior Kurdish militia member in N Syria

ANKARA -- The Turkish National Intelligence Organization on Thursday killed a senior member of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, the state-run TRT broadcaster reported.

Hasan Demertas, who was in charge of YPG operations in the northern Syrian city of Kobani, was killed in an operation in Ayn al-Arab town, the TRT quoted anonymous Turkish security forces as saying.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Defense Ministry said its forces killed nine YPG members in Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Peace Spring zones on Thursday.

Demertas joined the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in 2001, and operated for many years in the rural areas of Türkiye's southeastern provinces of Hakkari and Tunceli, along with the Zagros Mountains in northern Iraq, according to the TRT.

Türkiye issued an arrest warrant for Demertas on the grounds that he participated in the 2011 attack in Tunceli's Ovacik district which killed Turkish prosecutor Murat Uzun and a taxi driver.

Ankara sees the YPG as the Syrian branch of the PKK.

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

The Turkish forces frequently carry out ground operations, airstrikes, and artillery bombardments against the group's positions in northern Iraq, especially the Qandil Mountains, the main base of the PKK.

The Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in 2020 in northern Syria in order to create a YPG-free zone along its border within the neighboring country.