Turkish intelligence eliminated a so-called academy director of the PKK terrorist group in northern Iraq, security sources said on Wednesday.

According to information obtained from security sources, Ümit Tarhan, one of the so-called directors of PKK’s academies, was eliminated in an operation carried out by Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) on Aug. 31 in the Duhok province in northern Iraq.

The terrorist, code-named "Rezan Amed," joined the rural cadres of the PKK terrorist organization in 2009 after getting involved in structures associated with the terrorist organization in Berlin.

Tarhan was involved in various terrorist activities in Qandil and took charge of the group's so-called attack sabotage unit in Syria in 2015. He organized the transfer of explosives from Syria to Türkiye in 2016 and personally prepared the bomb assemblies and hand-made explosives.

Tarhan was sent to Gara in the north of Iraq by the group's upper ranks to train terrorists. He trained many members of the organization on attacks and sabotage.

MIT included Tarhan in the list of critical targets to be eliminated due to his activities.

Tarhan also provided the electronic and mechanical materials needed by the terrorist organization from Europe and was determined to have them delivered.

Another terrorist who was accompanying Tarhan was also eliminated in the MIT operation in the Duhok/Gara region in northern Iraq.

During the military operations organized by MIT in the past weeks, a number of terrorists have been eliminated in Qamishli, including Muhsin Yağan, code-named "Dijvar-Silopi," the so-called administrator of the PKK, and Yusif Mehmud Rebani, code-named "Rezan Cavit," the so-called provincial head of the PKK.

For more than 40 years, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria and northern Iraq to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).

AA