Turkey Says Its Intelligence ‘Neutralized’ Mastermind Behind Istanbul Bombing In Syria

Alleged PKK/YPG commander Halil Menci, via Twitter.

The Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has “neutralized” a senior commander of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its Syrian affiliate the People’s Protection Units (YPG) who played a key role in the planning and implementation of the last year bombing in Istanbul, the Anadolu Agency reported on February 24, citing security sources.

According to the sources, the commander, Halil Menci, was “neutralized” in a special operation that took place near al-Qamishli city in the northeastern Syrian governorate of al-Hasakah.

The term “neutralized” is usually used by official Turkish sources to imply that the person in question was killed, wounded or captured.

The special operation the sources talked about was reportedly a Turkish drone strike that targeted a vehicle on a road near al-Qamishli on February 22. An unidentified man was killed and another was wounded in the strike. 

Anadolu Agency sources said that Menci directed the perpetrators of the attack, Ahlam Albashir and Bilal Hassan, and later enabled Hassan to escape abroad.

“MIT’s special operations team had been closely following Menci after it was learned that he was being protected by the terror group and was in contact with senior YPG members,” the agency quotes its sources as saying.

No group has claimed responsibility for the November 13 bombing in Istanbul, which claimed the lives of six people and left more than 80 others wounded. However, Turkey blamed the terrorist attack on the PKK and YPG.

Following the attack, Turkey threatened to launch a new invasion into territory held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDf), which is led by the YPG, in northern and eastern Syria. Nevertheless, pressure from the United States, the main backer of the group, and Russia forced Ankara to put its military plans on halt.

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