ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey claimed to have killed on Friday a suspected officer of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in a drone strike in Syria’s Raqqa province, state media reported on Sunday.
Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MIT) carried out an operation in northern Syria’s Ain Issa and allegedly killed Mehmet Gurbuz, code-named “Rojhat Karakocan,” who state-owned Anadolu Agency described as the “so-called Euphrates region officer” of the YPG.
The YPG has not commented on the operation nor confirmed Gurbuz’s death.
Anadolu also said that the drone strike killed Gurbuz’s bodyguard, while a second drone attack on Friday killed a further three suspected YPG members and destroyed “two Grad missiles and various ammunition.”
The backbone of the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the YPG, is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara and considered the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The SDF is a critical opponent of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and has recently concluded a weeks-long operation to counter ISIS cells in al-Hol camp in Hasaka province. The operation was commended by the US-led coalition who reaffirmed commitment to their partnership with the Kurdish-led force to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS in the region.
The operation saw the arrests of 226 ISIS suspects along with the confiscation of various types of weapons, according to the SDF.
Turkey has recently ramped up its attacks in northern Syria, as it seeks to target fighters and key figures of the SDF in preparation for a looming offensive it intends to launch against Kurdish fighters in the area.
In August, Turkey claimed responsibility for the death of a YPG leader in Rojava. The SDF confirmed his death but did not disclose any leadership positions, instead only referring to him as a fighter.
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