2 top PKK/KCK terrorists nabbed, brought back to Türkiye

By Baris Gundogan

ANKARA (AA) – Two PKK/KCK terrorists have been apprehended and brought back to Türkiye by Turkish intelligence forces, a security source said on Friday.

Atilla Cicek, codenamed Lehenk, and Huseyin Yildirim, codenamed Aliser, were captured by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in operations near the border, said the source, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Cicek was in the highest category of the Interior Ministry’s list of wanted terrorists.

He carried out deadly terror attacks on Turkish soil, including one in 2012 that killed seven people, including six soldiers, in the eastern Tunceli province.

Another more recent attack was in 2020 in Dogubayazit, a district in the eastern Agri province, that killed two soldiers, said the source.

As for Aliser, the source said he was involved in terrorist activities in Iraq and Syria.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.