A high-ranking member of the PKK terrorist group was "neutralized" by Turkish intelligence, security sources said Friday. Photos shared on media outlets showed a charred car in which the target was apparently traveling in Iraq's north.

The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) determined that Zagros Cekdar, code-named "Mesut Celal Osman," forcefully recruited young people in Syria and directed attacks on Turkish security forces, and in 2018 he crossed over from Syria to Iraq, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media. According to the sources, Osman, one of the PKK's so-called provincial commanders in Sinjar, Iraq, was assigned by the terrorist group to seek support as it was losing power in the region, the sources added.

Osman was "neutralized" while attending a meeting of the terrorist group in Sinjar, it added. Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered, or were killed or captured. PKK terrorists often hide out across the border in northern Iraq to plot attacks. In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

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 numerous PKK members were transported to Türkiye.