İsmail Özden (1952 Şimzê,

Beşiri Beşiri (, ) is a town and seat of the Beşiri District in the Batman Province of Turkey.İlçe ...

– 15 August 2018), aka Mam Zêki Shingali, was a member of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...

(, PKK), famous for the leading role he played in the resistance to the conquest of Sinjar by ISIL. He was killed on 15 August 2018 in a

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...

airstrike An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

Early life

Ismail Özden was born in 1952 to

Yazidi Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish-speaking endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The majority of Yazidis remaining in ...

parents in

Beşiri Beşiri (, ) is a town and seat of the Beşiri District in the Batman Province of Turkey.İlçe ...

. He attended primary school in the village but dropped out of secondary school. In 1969, at the age of 17, he moved to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

upon the invitation of his brothers. He settled in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

, where a Yazidi diaspora community was already present.

Political and military career

In 1978, Özden met sympathizers of the PKK and began to get involved in propaganda work for the party. In 1981 he became the founding president of the Kurdistan Patriotic Workers Association (''Komeleya Karkerên Welatparêzên Kurdistanê)'' in Celle. Also in 1981, he began to be involved in publishing the '' Sêrxwebun'', a publication of the PKK. In 1985 Özden travelled to the PKK training camps and met

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...

, the PKK's leader. By 1987 he was a ranking member of the PKK. Due to his prior experience with the Kurdish movement in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, Özden was sent back to Germany by the PKK. Between 1992 and 1996, he worked for the PKK in

. In Germany he was arrested and prosecuted for being a member of the PKK. He was released in 1998. After the capture of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, Özden went to the Qandil Mountains in northeastern Iraq and became a member of the executive council of the

Kurdistan Communities Union The Kurdistan Communities Union (, KCK) is a Kurdish political organization committed to implementing Abdullah Öcalan's ideology of democratic confederalism. The KCK also serves as an umbrella group for several confederalist political parties o ...

(, KCK), a Kurdish political organization incorporating the PKK. He was appointed leader responsible for

Sinjar Sinjar (; , ) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its population in 2013 was estimated at 88,023, and is predominantly Yazidi. History ...

Province, also known as Shingal, part of Sinjar District in the

Nineveh Governorate Nineveh Governorate (; , ) is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of a ...

, northwestern Iraq. Özden was sent to replace the former leaders of the province, Vahiyettin Karay, alias Agit Civyan, and Agit Kelar, who were both killed along with 33 others during a meeting in the Qandil Mountains, by a Turkish

. The militant Kurdish organization established bases in the mountainous area of Sinjar, where an armed force of about 2,500 was stationed. Özden moved to Sinjar on 11 July 2011.

Assassination

On 15 August 2018, the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

(, TSK), in cooperation with the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey (, MİT) carried out a

cross-border airstrike into Iraqi territory. The operation was named "Bedirhan Mustafa Karakaya" after a ten-month-old baby boy, who was killed along with his mother by an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

of the PKK in their private car. The boy and his mother had been returning from their visit to the boy's father, who was serving as a

gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

sergeant stationed at Yüksekova, Hakkari, southeastern Turkey on 31 July 2018. The MİT was able to listen to Özden's

satellite phone A satellite telephone, satellite phone or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to other phones or the telephone network by radio link through satellites orbiting the Earth instead of terrestrial cell sites, as cellphones do. Therefo ...

and was thus able to localize his whereabouts. His activity was observed for three days. A Turkish intelligence unit reported that Özden had arrived in Kocho village at around 12:00 hours local time on 15 August 2018. He was to attend a memorial service for the victims of the

Sinjar massacre The Sinjar massacre () marked the beginning of the genocide of Yazidis by ISIL, the killing and abduction of thousands of Yazidis, Yazidi men, women and children. It took place in August 2014 in Sinjar city and Sinjar District in Iraq's Nineveh ...

, which was perpetrated by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

(ISIL) on the resident

Yazidis Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The major ...

in early August 2014. He remained in the area for about three and half hours. The airstrike did not begin during this time due to Özden's proximity to a large number of civilians. He left the meeting place at around 15:30 in an armored vehicle in a convoy of four cars, which was observed by air and land for approximately 20 minutes. The airstrikes were carried out as part of a series of Turkish cross-border military operations with the alleged permission of the Iraqi government.

Legacy

Ismail Özden is viewed by many Yazidis as a hero of the resistance of the

against

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

. In

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Özden was viewed as a terrorist and he became the first person to be wanted on the Turkish government's red list. The monetary reward for him amounted to 4 million (more than $1 million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

). A ceremony was held to mourn his death in Celle, Germany.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozden, Ismail 1952 births 2018 deaths 2018 crimes in Iraq 2018 murders in Iraq 2018 in Turkey History of Nineveh Governorate Persecution of Yazidis by ISIL Assassinated Kurdish people People from Batman Province Turkish Yazidis Deaths by Turkish airstrikes Assassinations in Iraq Members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party Turkish Kurdish people Turkish emigrants to West Germany German Yazidis People from Celle Turkish people of Kurdish descent People murdered in Iraq

Early life

Political and military career

Assassination

Legacy

See also

References