A YPG/PKK terrorist who was eliminated by a Turkish operation in northern Syria earlier this year was identified Wednesday as one of the three terrorists to whom the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) had issued a condolence message.
Civana Heso codenamed "Roj Habur" was killed during an operation coordinated by the Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MIT) in July, Turkish security sources said. She was the so-called Jazira regional head of the PKK/YAT in Syria.
CENTCOM released a condolence message on July 24 for "senior" YPG terrorist figure Salva Yusuk, saying: "Salva Yusuk, the deputy commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), was killed along with two female fighters in an attack on July 22, 2022 near Qamishli, Syria."
In the post, it was confirmed that one of the two terrorists, who was stated to be with the terrorist Yusuk, is Civana Heso, codenamed "Roj Habur," a so-called regional officer of the PKK/YPG terrorist group in Syria.
According to information obtained from security sources, the terrorist Heso received her special military training from U.S. forces in Syria. It was also learned that the terrorist trained others to take action against Türkiye as a "women's supervisor" at the so-called Dilovan academy, where the PKK/YPG had previously given assassination training.
It was determined that the members of the group trained by the terrorist carried out harassment fire and attacks against security forces in northern Syria's Operation Peace Spring zone and southeastern Türkiye's Mardin-Şırnak line.
The PKK established its so-called anti-terrorist units, known as the YAT, in 2014, operating as supposed special forces in Syria and engaging in organized infiltration, ambushes, and similar actions against security forces on the border, the sources said.
The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Türkiye and the European Union, and Washington's support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara. The PKK/YPG has controlled much of northeastern Syria after the forces of Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad withdrew in 2012.
The U.S. primarily partnered with PKK/YPG terrorists in northeastern Syria in its fight against the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Türkiye strongly opposed the PKK/YPG's presence in northern Syria.
Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the U.S. has provided military training and given truckloads of military support to the PKK/YPG, despite its NATO ally's security concerns. Underlining that one cannot support one terrorist group to defeat another, Türkiye has conducted its counterterrorism operations throughout, removing a significant number of terrorists from the region.
"We know the identity, location and track record of the terrorists. We also know very well who patronizes, arms and encourages terrorists," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also recently said, referring to the U.S. support for the YPG.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful ground operations against terrorist groups to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).