Spy 2015: Kurdish
In late 2015, Russian operatives in Iraq began recruiting Kurdish Peshmerga officers from the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) faction. The payment was simple: advanced weapons and diplomatic cover in Moscow. The ask? Provide the GPS coordinates of Turkish military advisors operating in Bashiqa.
This spy network was eventually rolled up by Turkish intelligence in December 2015, leading to a shootout on the outskirts of Erbil. The incident highlighted how the Kurds were not just spies, but the target of three superpowers simultaneously. Despite the relentless infiltration, 2015 was also the year the Asayish matured into a formidable force. Under the guidance of a shadowy figure known only as "Zinar," the Kurds deployed a tactic called "The Silver Cage." Spy 2015 Kurdish
When a suspected spy was caught, the YPG would not kill them. Instead, they would feed the spy disinformation. For six months in 2015, a captured Turkish spy was forced to send reports to Ankara claiming that the YPG was not cooperating with the Syrian regime. In reality, the YPG had just signed a secret military protocol with Assad’s National Defence Forces in Hasakah. In late 2015, Russian operatives in Iraq began
The Asayish investigation revealed a horrifying truth: the perpetrator was a Kurdish man from the region who had joined the YPG two months prior. He was a "wolf in sheep's clothing." Provide the GPS coordinates of Turkish military advisors
Byline: Strategic Intelligence Review
Known as Abu Hajar al-Kurdi , the spy had exploited the YPG’s desperate need for manpower in 2015. With borders porous, the YPG had been accepting volunteers with minimal vetting. Abu Hajar rose through the ranks quickly because he spoke fluent Kurmanji and had fought against ISIS in 2014—a lie. In reality, he had been trained by ISIS’s Emniyat in Raqqa as a "sleeping agent." His mission? To map out the YPG’s checkpoint rotations for a future offensive. When he was caught, YPG intelligence found a phone containing photos of the Asayish headquarters in Kobani.