ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s intelligence organization carried out the Friday operation that killed a senior commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria (Rojava), state media reported on Saturday.
Farhad Derik, an SDF commander, was killed by a Turkish drone while he was visiting his family in Derik, Hasaka province, the SDF said on Friday. A woman and a child were also injured in the attack, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu Agency (AA) on Saturday cited unnamed security sources saying the Kurdish commander was killed during an operation by the Turkish intelligence agency (MIT).
MIT had been following him for some time. Derik worked as a coordinator between the SDF and global coalition forces in Syria, and he had previously been the target of a Turkish drone strike, according to SOHR and AA.
Anadolu claimed Derik was the perpetrator of an attack in Turkey in February 2022 where one soldier was killed and three others injured.
Since early October, Turkey has conducted frequent assaults on Kurdish-led forces and civilian infrastructure in Rojava in retaliation for an attack on the interior ministry in Ankara, for which the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed responsibility.
The PKK is an armed group struggling for increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. It is proscribed as a terrorist organization by Ankara. Turkey believes the SDF and its Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) are Syrian branches of the PKK.
The SDF has denied any role in the interior ministry attack.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment