Mihraç Ural, known to have close links to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime and the leader of the pro-Syrian Resistance group, said Thursday in an interview with Russia-based Sputnik that save for a few clashes, the PKK-affiliated Democratic Union Party's armed People's Protection Units (YPG) have never clashed with regime forces."In several incidents, the YPG's cooperation was necessary," he said.Ural was a top militant in the Turkish People's Liberation Party-Front (THKP-C), a predecessor to the Revolutionary Peoples' Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), which is listed as terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and U.S. He is also the alleged mastermind of the 2013 car bombings in Hatay.When two DHKP-C terrorists killed prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz in his office at Istanbul's Çağlayan Courthouse on March 31, Ural glorified the deadly event, saying: "If you contaminate justice, then you'll bear the consequences."The DHKP-C is an offshoot of a Marxist-Leninist movement that was established in the 1970s. The organization was founded in the 1990s after it splintered from a larger group of far-left organizations responsible for a string of attacks. It kept a relatively low profile for many years, but in 2013 a DHKP-C militant carried out a suicide bombing at the U.S. Embassy compound in Ankara, killing a Turkish security guard.Ural's name grew when reports claimed that the regime was harboring militants linked to the organization.According to reports published by Turkish media outlets in March 2013, the DHKP-C had moved its center from Greece to Latakia, following operations that the Greek government conducted after a deal was made between then prime minister and current president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and then Greek President Antonis Samaras to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism.Latakia is also known as one of the strongholds of the Syrian regime. The city's district of Ras al-Bassit has a DHKP-C militant camp protected by the Syrian army. While the military base was also assigned to a group called the Urgent Ones (Acilciler) led by Ural, DHKP-C militants in the camp were being trained in explosives and bomb making by military officers from the Syrian army.Arab21 News reported on July 3 that the Assad regime is cooperating with the PKK in order to carry out several terrorist attacks, including political assassinations, particularly in Istanbul and Ankara.In an interview with London-based Al-Hayat in July, PYD Co-Chair Salih Muslim said if the necessary conditions are provided then the PYD would join forces with the regime. Muslim further said: "Why not join forces if the Syrian forces are trying to return to the region in a different perspective and under new conditions? In that case the PYD will become a part of the Syrian army."