ANKARA: Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has neutralised two members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in an operation in northern Iraq, Turkish media reported on Friday citing security sources.
According to reports the operation targeted Bahar Akyol, codenamed “Farasin Gabar,” and Nurbahar Karadagli, codenamed “Tijda Jiyan,” who were under surveillance of MIT for some time before they were found in the region of Hakurk.
The terrorists were neutralised during an operation in Hakurk, where they were making bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for terrorist attacks.
Akyol had received arms training at the organisation’s camps in Iraq and was reportedly active in Haftanin in 2019 and Hakurk in 2020. He specialized in attacks and sabotage activities.
Karadagli, another member of the PKK since 2014, moved to the countryside of Hakurk in 2023, where she received training to carry out attacks and sabotage.
The PKK, recognized as a terrorist group by the US, and the European Union, initiated armed conflict against the Turkish state in 1984, resulting in significant casualties over decades of insurgency.
In March Iraqi officials announced the National Security Council’s decision to declare the PKK a “banned organization” in Iraq. Ankara welcomed this decision in the joint statement issued later.
