The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) eliminated Fahrettin Tolun, a senior PKK terrorist in Syria, security sources said Thursday. Tolun, also known as Hayri Serhat, was in charge of the terrorist group’s “heavy weapons and defense supplies.” He was active in Rmelan of Syria, a town in Hassakeh, a region under the control of the PKK’s Syria wing, the YPG.
Tolun has been a member of the PKK for decades and was also in charge of recruits in Iran, Iraq and Syria. Interpol has issued a Red Notice for him, but he eluded capture for years. MIT was after him in Syria, but Tolun often changed location. Security sources said he was “neutralized” in a “precision operation” but did not give details. “Neutralized” is a term used to describe terrorists captured alive or dead.
In recent years, the Turkish intelligence agency has stepped up its operations abroad to stamp out terrorist activities in Iraq and Syria, Türkiye’s two southeastern neighbors. In 2022 alone, 23 senior figures of the terrorist group backed by the U.S. in Syria were eliminated in MIT’s operations in the two countries, while many PKK members were transported to Türkiye. Since 2018, Turkish intelligence forces have eliminated over 100 terrorists. In February, a PKK member behind a terrorist attack on Istanbul’s Istiklal Street last year was killed in an MIT operation in Syria.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations – Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019) – across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents.
