Turkish intel 'neutralizes' senior PKK member in Syria

ANKARA

The National Intelligence Organization (MİT) has neutralized Ali Dinçer, the PKK's leader in Syria's Jazira region, who was wanted by Interpol with a red bulletin, according to media reports.

The operation was carried out in the Qamishli region, resulting in the elimination of Dinçer, who had been under long-term surveillance by MİT, daily Hürriyet said.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to indicate that the individuals in question have either surrendered, been killed or captured. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union.

Dinçer, known by his code name "Orhan Bingöl," joined the PKK in 1991 and was involved in numerous attacks orchestrated by the organization.

In 1997, Dinçer led a raid on the village of Demirtaş in Elazığ's Karakoçan district, seizing property from the villagers, media reports said.

Later that year, he ordered an attack in Bingöl, resulting in the death of gendarmerie officer İhsan Bahçıvan and wounding five soldiers. He also orchestrated a subsequent attack on civilians, killing Hadin Korkulu.

In 1999, Dinçer was both the perpetrator and planner of an attack in Bingöl that claimed the lives of police officers Ahmet Birkaç and Mustafa Yüksel.

He continued his actions in 2003 and 2004, planning and participating in attacks in Bingöl that killed specialist sergeant Alper Öcay and civilian Hıdır Şahin.

Dinçer was personally responsible for a 2007 attack on a commando battalion in Hakkari's Dağlıca village, where 12 soldiers were killed and 16 wounded. In 2008, he led another deadly assault on a gendarmerie station in the city.