A joint operation by Turkish security forces and the country's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has eliminated the PKK terrorist group's so-called Makhmour head Hasan Adır in northern Iraq, security sources said Friday.

Adır, codenamed "Salih Cizre," was on a red notice, meaning he was among the country's most-wanted terrorists. He was targeted at a point near the Makhmour camp controlled by the PKK terrorists.

Turkish forces recently killed Selman Bozkır, codenamed "Doctor Hüseyin," who was the joint regional head of the PKK in the Makhmour region. Announcing the operation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Turkey would not allow the "treacherous and separatist organization" to use Iraq's Makhmour district as an "incubation center" for terrorism. "We will continue to eradicate terrorism at its source," he stressed.

Turkish intelligence discovered that the camp was as important as Qandil for the PKK terrorists and that they were recruiting and training members for their activities under the guise of the camp. The Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq are the PKK's stronghold, and the group is active in many cities and towns. It occupies a large number of villages in the region and launches attacks on Turkey's interior from here.

The PKK terrorist group often hides out in northern Iraq, just across Turkey's southern border, to plot terrorist attacks in Turkey. The Turkish military regularly conducts cross-border operations in northern Iraq. Turkey has long been stressing that it will not tolerate terrorist threats posed against its national security and has called on Iraqi officials to take the necessary steps to eliminate the terrorist group. Ankara previously noted that if the expected steps were not taken, it would not shy away from targeting terrorist threats.