The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has eliminated a so-called special operative of the PKK terrorist group in an operation in northern Iraq, security sources said Friday.
Rezan Güngen, codenamed "Rezan Botan," was "neutralized" in Iraq’s Suleymaniyah region, which the PKK considers outside of Türkiye’s jurisdiction, the sources said.
"Neutralized" is an official term used by Türkiye to describe terrorists killed or captured alive. In most operations abroad though, most terrorists are recovered dead.
Güngen was listed as one of the terrorists likely to carry out an attack against Türkiye in the coming period, sources said.
PKK sympathizers directed him to its camps in the Iraqi region of Makhmur where he joined in PKK’s youth branches and assisted in organizational activities.
He was being trained by the PKK in attack and sabotage tactics to be used in special operations, sources informed, citing MIT’s field agents and intelligence network in northern Iraq.
His close relatives, Murat Güngen, codenamed "Behlül Botan," Ruken Güngen and Güler Botan, who were active within the PKK, were also eliminated in the past, according to sources.
The Turkish intelligence agency has stepped up its operations abroad in recent years 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 United States in Syria were eliminated in MIT’s operations in the two countries, while many PKK members were brought to Türkiye.
In its over 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women and children.
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) also regularly conduct cross-border operations in northern Iraq, a region where PKK terrorists have hideouts and bases, from where they carry out attacks in Türkiye.
Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock last year in April to target the PKK terrorist group's hideouts in the Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions of northern Iraq, located near the Turkish border. As part of it, 586 terrorists have been eliminated so far.
It was preceded by two operations – Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle – launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.
Turkish security forces eliminated 44 terrorists within the last week as part of Ankara’s strategy to erase terrorism at its roots, the Defense Ministry announced Thursday.
Thus, the number of terrorists eliminated has reached 1,146 this year and 38,489 since July 24, 2015.
"Since the beginning of this year, 96 harassment attacks have been carried out by the terrorist organization in our operation areas, three of which were in the last week. With the immediate intervention of our heroic commandos, 840 terrorists were eliminated, 31 of them again in the last week," a ministry official said.
Türkiye’s military involvement in northern Iraq dates back over two decades. Apart from its operations against the PKK is the war against the Daesh terrorist group, which controlled much of the area, in 2014 and 2015, when Ankara was an ally in the U.S.-led anti-Daesh campaign.