ANKARA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish National Intelligence Organization "neutralized" a senior member of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in a cross-border operation in northern Syria, the state-run TRT broadcaster reported Friday.

Türkiye sees the YPG as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, and has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades.

Fatma Sakana, who was "neutralized" in the operation, reportedly joined the PKK in Iran in 2006 and was involved in the PKK's activities in the rural areas of the southeastern Sirnak province in Türkiye between 2010 and 2012. She later joined the group's branches in Syria and Iraq.

Sakana was allegedly among the perpetrators of an attack by the PKK in Sirnak in 2012, which killed 10 Turkish soldiers, anonymous security sources told the TRT.

Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralize" in their statements to imply the alleged "terrorists" have either surrendered, been killed, or been captured.

The Turkish military has launched multiple operations since 2016 in northern Syria in order to create a YPG-free zone along the border with the neighboring country. Enditem

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