Turkey neutralizes PKK's ringleader

ANKARA

Turkish security forces have killed an alleged high-ranking PKK terrorist in an operation in northern Iraq, Turkey’s president said on May 17. 

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said after a Cabinet meeting that the slain terrorist was responsible for the Syria operations of the outlawed PKK.

He identified him by his codename, Sofi Nurettin, and said he was a Syrian national.

"PKK terror group's ringleader in Syria, codenamed Sofi Nurettin, was neutralized by Turkish forces in northern Iraq," Erdoğan said during the press conference, adding that the neutralized terrorist was guilty of many attacks against Turkish soldiers in Turkey's anti-terror operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch.

The case of the neutralized terrorist demonstrates that the PKK/KCK and PYD/YPG are the same organization, said Erdoğan.

The terrorist was also among the high-ranking members of the PKK terror group, which ordered the killings of 13 Turkish civilians in the Gara region of northern Iraq.

"I remind you that the same fate awaits everyone who betrays this country, fires a bullet, harms our people, threatens the integrity of our country, the unity of our nation, and the survival of our state," he said.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – also listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and the U.S. – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women and children.