Türkiye's National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) has successfully neutralised a high-ranking member of the PKK/KCK-PYD/YPG in Syria.
Mazlum Afrin, codenamed Nabo Kele Hayri, who orchestrated the devastating bombing on Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue on November 13, 2022, resulting in six deaths and 81 injuries, has been neutralised.
MIT's relentless pursuit of those responsible for the Istiklal Attack led to a comprehensive operation that not only took down Nabo Kele Hayri but also unveiled other key figures involved in the attack's planning and execution.
After the elimination of Halil Menci, a collaborator with PYD/YPG who aided and guided the perpetrators of the Istiklal bombing, Ahlam Albashir Saleh and Bilal Hassan, and facilitated Bilal Hassan's escape abroad in February 2023 in Syria, MIT continued its operations.
Following the latest operation, all three individuals who were responsible for the attack were neutralised.
MIT's ongoing efforts have exposed Mazlum Afrin, code-named Nabo Kele Hayri's involvement in a 14-member intelligence network established by the PKK/KCK-PYD/YPG in May 2022 with the aim of carrying out hostile actions against Türkiye.
Nabo Kele Hayri, who had previously overseen intelligence activities in terrorist-controlled areas of Syria, was responsible for coordinating attacks and sabotage against Turkish security forces and the Syrian National Army of the Provisional Syrian Government (SNA) in conflict zones.
His role as the mastermind behind the bomb attack that took the lives of four civilians in the Operation Peace Spring region on May 2, 2021, was also unveiled by Türkiye's MIT.
Additionally, he was identified as a combatant who injured his eye during clashes with the SNA during the Operation Olive Branch.
MIT had been relentlessly tracking Mazlum Afrin, code-named Nabo Kele Hayri in Syria for an extended period.
The intelligence agency discovered that Nabo Kele Hayri had personally provided specialised training to Ahlam Albashir Saleh, one of the perpetrators of the Istiklal attack, and subsequently organised her transfer to Türkiye. As this was revealed, the efforts to apprehend Nabo Kele Hayri were intensified.
This operation marks a significant victory for Turkish intelligence and reinforces their commitment to countering terrorist threats both domestically and abroad.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
