Turkish intelligence eliminates high-ranking PKK leader in Iraq

Shafaq News/ Turkish intelligence agency (MIT) has eliminated Sedat Aksu, a top member of the PKK, Turkish media quoted sources on Monday.

Aksu, known by the codename "Sevger Ciya," held a leadership position within the PKK's executive council.

Aksu was responsible for coordinating attacks against Turkish security forces in northern Syria (2016) and overseeing the PKK's weapons cache in the Gara region of Iraq, according to Daily Sabah.

MIT tracked Aksu, who was supplying arms to PKK members planning an attack in the area of Turkiye's Operation Claw-Lock, for an extended period before managing to kill him.

Aksu joined the group in 1998 and participated in attacks on Turkish forces in Sirnak province (2000). He later moved to Iraq and received further training before becoming a trainer himself. By 2014, he reached a leadership position within the PKK.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the insurgency.

Senior Turkish and Iraqi officials held high-level talks in Baghdad last week to discuss security issues including potential measures against the PKK, after Ankara warned of new military operations in the region.

Turkiye has conducted years of cross-border military operations against militants that have left roughly half the Syrian territory bordering Turkiye and all of Iraqi territory bordering Turkiye controlled or overseen by its military.