Turkiye neutralizes 4 PKK members in Kurdistan

Shafaq News/ The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced the neutralization of four Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members in Iraqi Kurdistan, including "Yusuf Kalkan," who was listed on the red notice of wanted individuals.

The Turkish authorities use the term "neutralized" to imply that the person in interest has been killed or captured.

The ministry stated that these individuals were neutralized following an airstrike in the Pençe-Kilit (Claw-Lock)operation area.

Kalkan, also known by his alias as Sukan Chala (Turkish: Sukan Çağla), was one of the individuals pursued under the red notice for charges of "establishing and managing a terrorist organization."

According to the Anadolu Agency, citing security sources, a Turkish intelligence airstrike in al-Sulaymaniyah neutralized Omar Firat, alias "Tulahildan," the PKK's head in al-Sulaymaniyah, along with Irfan Zendi, alias "Raman Rinas," and Hidayat Rasuli, alias "Sengavir Mikael," both of whom are Iranian.

The security sources added that due to the operations conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces in the Kurdistan Region, PKK elements have retreated to al-Sulaymaniyah and have started establishing positions in the rural areas of the governorate.

The conflict between Turkiye and the PKK, which began in the early 1980s with the PKK's push for an independent Kurdish state, has seen significant escalation over the decades.

The PKK engaged in guerrilla warfare while Turkiye launched large-scale operations against them, especially in southeastern Turkiye and northern Iraq.

Efforts at peace, including a 2013 process, collapsed in 2015, leading to renewed fighting.