ANKARA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkish National Intelligence Organization killed a senior member of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported on Monday.
Mehmet Akyol, codenamed "Dogan Amanos", was in charge of YPG operations in Ain Issa town in the Tal Abyad district of nothern Syria's Raqqa city, the agency reported, quoting anonymous Turkish security forces.
The Turkish intelligence was following his activities against Turkish security forces in Türkiye's southern Hatay and eastern Van provinces when he joined the ranks of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the news agency reported.
Ankara sees the YPG as the Syrian branch of the PKK.
Akyol had engaged in clashes with the Turkish security forces in Van and Hatay's rural areas, the news agency reported. He later joined the PKK fighters in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq, where the group has its headquarters. He had been operating in Ain Issa recently, it said.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades. ■
