Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization "neutralized" a senior member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq before an alleged attack on the Turkish military in the region, Türkiye's semi-official Anadolu Agency reported Tuesday.

After receiving information about a planned attack in the military's Operation Claw-Lock zone, Turkish intelligence launched a cross-border operation in the Gara region targeting Nusrettin Demir and accompanying PKK members, and killed Demir, Anadolu cited anonymous Turkish security sources as saying, without specifying the time of the operation.

Demir, code-named Kurtay Batman, reportedly assumed a senior leadership role in the PKK in 2023.

Demir is believed to have joined the PKK's rural ranks in 2014, carried out organizational activities in Syria in 2016-2021, and subsequently relocated to northern Iraq, where he allegedly became a key planner of attacks targeting Turkish security forces there in 2021-2022, according to Anadolu.

The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades.

Turkish security forces frequently conduct cross-border operations in northern Iraq, targeting PKK hideouts and bases that they allege are used to stage attacks against Türkiye.

In 2022, Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock to target PKK hideouts in northern Iraq's Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions near the Turkish border. 

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