ANKARA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish National Intelligence Organization has killed a senior member of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in a cross-border operation in northern Syria, the state-run TRT broadcaster reported Friday.
The organization "neutralized" Halil Tekin in the Qamisli region, anonymous security officials told the TRT, without specifying the time frame of the operation.
Tekin allegedly joined the YPG in 2007 and carried out "terrorist" activities in Syria and Iraq.
His father, Ibrahim Tekin, who was also a member of the group, was "neutralized" in an operation carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces in 1992, the TRT reported.
Türkiye sees the YPG as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has been listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union, and has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades.
Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralize" in their statements to imply the alleged "terrorists" have either surrendered, been killed, or been captured.
The Turkish military has launched several operations since 2016 in northern Syria in order to create a YPG-free zone along the border with the neighboring country. ■
