The operation was carried out simultaneously in the Syrian cities of Aleppo, Kamishli, Afrin, Haseke and Rakka. Those taken into custody are being accused of “membership in a terrorist organization, extraction of money by extortion and attempting to separate Kurds of the country along ethnic and religious lines.” The government also announced measures against families of Kurdish origin in the city of Haseke. Syrian officials announced that those helping the PKK would lose the right to the use of land allotted by the government, noting that this practice of land deprivation could be extended.
Eleven PKK terrorists were killed in Syria last week in clashes between security forces and the terrorists in various parts of the country. Syrian President Bashar Assad, during a recent visit to Turkey, stated at a press conference that the activities of the terrorist organization cannot be accepted and that Turkey and Syria were working in full cooperation and mutual understanding in the fight against terror.
The PKK has been waging a separatist campaign of violence for nearly three decades, mainly in Turkey but also in some parts of Iraq, Syria and Iran where there are Kurdish populations.
Last month, four members of Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), the Iranian wing of the PKK, were killed in an armed clash between Iranian Border Guards and the terrorists in the Salmas and Marivan regions of that country. Three others surrendered to the Iranian authorities. The acting commander of Iran’s Border Guards, Rahim Khorshidvand, said operations against the PKK/PJAK would continue. Iran also conducted an aerial bombardment targeting terrorist camps in the north of the country.
Also last month, an Iranian court sentenced terrorists Muhammed Emin Agushi and Ahmet Puladhani to death on several charges including carrying out bombings in the name of the PKK/PJAK, committing murder, threatening Iran’s national security and providing finances for the terrorist organization. These recent sentences raise the number of terrorists sentenced to death to 27. Six others were executed recently.
At that time, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran has maintained its military cooperation with Turkey against terrorism at the highest level, in remarks made when he was in Turkey for a Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) meeting.
