Turkish intelligence neutralizes PKK/YPG terrorist ringleader in northern Syria

By Eda Ozdener

ANKARA (AA) - An operation by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in northern Syria neutralized a terrorist PKK/YPG ringleader, according to security forces.

Hasan Demertas, the top PKK/YPG terrorist in Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), was killed in an operation at its local headquarters, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Demertas, also known as Kocero Batman/Kocer Amed (Diyarbakir) – referring to two cities in Türkiye – joined the terrorist group in 2001 and for many years carried out activities against Turkish security forces in rural areas of the border province of Hakkari and the eastern province of Tunceli, and the mountainous Zagros region, according to the security sources.

There was a warrant for Demertas’s arrest on the grounds that he took part in the 2011 killing of Murat Uzun, a public prosecutor in Tunceli, as well as a taxi driver.

The Turkish military has a presence in opposition-held northern Syria, across Türkiye’s southern border, where it has ongoing operations to remove the frontier threat of terrorist groups and help ensure the safety of locals.

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