Turkish intel ‘neutralizes’ senior member of PKK/KCK terror group in northern Iraq

By Zafer Fatih Beyaz

ANKARA (AA) – The Turkish intelligence agency “neutralized” one of the so-called senior members of the PKK/KCK terror group in northern Iraq, security sources said on Tuesday.

Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization carried out a cross-border anti-terror operation to capture Rojda Bilen, codenamed Biseng Brusk, a so-called coordinator of the terror group in Iraq's Sulaymaniyah, the sources said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The terrorist was "neutralized" as a result of the operation in a rural area of Sulaymaniyah.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

Bilen joined the terror group in 2011 and was sought for "being a member of an armed terrorist organization." She was in the "blue" category of wanted terrorists -- the second-highest category -- the sources added.

PKK terrorists often hide in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

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 more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan