Turkish Minister: “All PKK/YPG facilities in Syria and Iraq are legitimate targets”

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye, from now on, regards all “infrastructure, structure, and energy facilities belonging to the PKK and YPG in Syria and Iraq as a legitimate target,” stating that two terrorists who carried out a bomb attack on the Interior Ministry on October 1 came to Türkiye from Syria.

“All infrastructure, superstructure facilities, and energy facilities belonging to the PKK and YPG in Iraq and Syria are now the legitimate targets of our security forces, armed forces, and intelligence elements,” Fidan said on October 4th in Ankara after a meeting with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu.

Speaking about the bomb attack to the Ministry of Interior General Directorate of Security in Ankara on October 1, Fidan said that two perpetrators of the suicide attack came to Türkiye from Syria.

“It is a well-known fact how clear Turkey’s stance is in the fight against terrorism. After this latest incident, as a result of the work carried out by our intelligence and security forces, it has become clear that the two terrorists came from Syria and received training there,” he said.

“I advise third parties to stay away from PKK and YPG facilities and individuals,” Fidan said, adding, “The response of our armed forces to this terrorist attack will be extremely clear, and they will regret once again that they carried out such an act.”

The outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK)-affiliated group “People’s Defence Centre Headquarters Command” had claimed responsibility for the attempted attack.

20 PKK targets bombed in Iraq

In the aftermath of the October 1 attack on the Interior Ministry, political, administrative, and security institutions publicly supported Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, who envisaged a joint fight against criminal organisations and drug traffickers along with the fight against terrorism.

One of the first visits to Yerlikaya after the attack was from the head of the National Intelligence Organisation, İbrahim Kalın.

On the same day, Numan Kurtulmuş, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Cevdet Yılmaz, Vice President of the Republic, Yaşar Güler, Minister of National Defence, and the commanders of the Land, Air, Naval, Gendarmerie, and Coast Guard visited Yerlikaya.

On the night of October 1, it was announced that Air Force planes bombed 20 PKK targets in northern Iraq.

Nationwide operation

On the morning of October 3, a nationwide operation was reportedly launched against the PKK.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that a total of 13,440 police, gendarmerie, and village guards participated in 466 simultaneous operations in 18 provinces.

According to information obtained from security sources, the comprehensive operation targeted the PKK’s intelligence gathering network and “sleeper cells” in urban organisations, as well as Syrian migrants recruited for terrorist attacks.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office is in charge of the Şanlurfa-based operation, according to security sources.

Yerlikaya announced that 12 PKK suspects were detained in Şanlıurfa, Mersin, Van, Mardin, and Aydın, while 55 suspects were detained in operations in Mardin, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Mersin, Şırnak, İstanbul, Bursa, Batman, Denizli, Adana, Kayseri, Antalya, Konya, Isparta, and Kocaeli.

Security sources say the October 3 operation was not decided upon the October 1 attack; however, it was launched in cooperation with the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) and the Turkish National Police after “months of preparation” against PKK structures in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.

Sleeper cells and intelligence

Sources, who requested anonymity, told YetkinReport that the operation targeted PKK militants who are “sleeping” without engaging in attacks so that they can be “woken up” and mobilised when necessary.

The same sources claim that the aim is to strike a blow to the PKK’s intelligence organisation, which Interior Minister Yerlikaya referred to as SEL (Saziya Ewlekariya Leşkeri/Military Intelligence Organisation).

The operation also reportedly targeted Syrian refugees who are not members of the organisation but are utilised by the PKK in “one-off” attacks with a “disposable member” mentality, such as the Istiklal Street bombing in Istanbul on November 13, 2022, in which six people were killed and 81 wounded.

Sources also say that this operation is aimed at preventing terrorist acts that the PKK may attempt in metropolitan cities in the West as well as in the Southeast ahead of the local elections on March 31, 2024.

It is believed that the October 1 attack in Ankara may have been carried out by evoking a sleeper cell without much planning after Yerlikaya stepped up gang and drug operations.