Turkey Conducts Drone Strikes inside Iraq
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Turkish intelligence has reportedly carried out a counterterrorism operation aboard, targeting a member of the PKK terrorist group, identified as Mazlum Öztürk in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah region, according to Turkish security sources.
Öztürk, code-named Berxwedan Çiyager was "neutralized," a term used to describe terrorists captured dead or alive, during the operation, according to the Daily Sabah.
Security sources indicate that the PKK had been attempting to recruit new members and relocate existing ones from exposed areas.
According to the Turkish news website, the county’s National Intelligence Organization discovered that Öztürk had traveled from Turkey to Europe in August 2022 and had participated in activities of an organization affiliated with the PKK, including a sit-in strike outside the Council of Europe building in October 2022. Subsequently, he left France in January 2023 and arrived in Iraq, where he underwent training.
Earlier this month, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid criticized the shelling of Sulaymaniyah airport by the Turkish military, calling on Ankara to halt hostilities and apologize for attacking the area.
Rashid stated that there was "no legal justification" for such an act and that Turkish military operations against the Kurdistan region continue to take place.
Iraqi resistance groups have issued warnings to Turkey over its military incursions in Iraq. Iraqi authorities blame Turkish forces for civilian casualties in attacks, while Turkey denies targeting civilians. Last year in July, Turkish forces struck the Iraqi hill village of Parakh, resulting in the deaths of at least nine tourists and injuries to over 20 individuals.