ANKARA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish intelligence has "neutralized" a senior member of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, semi-official Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday.
The National Intelligence Organization, known by its Turkish acronym MIT, has "neutralized" Liman Suwyes, who is in charge of the female unit of the YPG, Anadolu quoted unnamed security sources as saying.
Suwyes, codenamed Rihan Amude, was under surveillance by MIT for a while. She was "neutralized" through a precision operation in northern Syria's Qamishli region.
According to Anadolu, Suwyes transmitted instructions from PKK headquarters in north Iraq's Qandil Mountains to female members of the YPG group in the Qamishli region near the southern border of Türkiye.
Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralize" in their statements to imply that the alleged "terrorists" have surrendered or were killed or captured.
Qamishli, located near the Turkish-Syrian border, was also targeted by the Turkish army on Monday in a series of airstrikes against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) after it killed nine Turkish soldiers in a recent attack in northern Iraq.
Syrian Kurds and their military wing YPG have controlled a territory in the east and northeast of Syria near Türkiye's border.
The Turkish government sees their presence on its southern border as a threat, saying the YPG is affiliated with the PKK, which is outlawed by Türkiye.
The Qandil Mountains, located 40 km southeast of the Turkish border in Iraq's Erbil province, are being used as the headquarters of the PKK.
Since last year, the MIT agents have carried out a lot of operations against the PKK in northern Iraq and the YPG in northern Syria, to eliminate the senior members of the two Kurdish armed groups who were behind attacks targeting Türkiye. ■
