Issa Ibrahim Hiso, a prominent member of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), was assassinated on Tuesday morning, July 30. Some Kurds suspect a connection between the murder and the recent visits of Kurdish leaders to Turkey, although fighting has also been taking place since July 16 between al-Qaeda and the Kurds.

The assassination follows a two-day visit by PYD leader Salih Muslim with Turkish foreign officials on July 26 and 27, and one by Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on July 29 to discuss an upcoming national Kurdish conference in Erbil in mid-August.

On July 26, a few days before the assassination, the local Kurdish police in Qamishli, Syria implemented security measures in response to al-Qaeda attacks, including banning trash bags in the streets, restricting parking for cars and closing shops late at night.

The killing was condemned by the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Congress (DTK), which stated, “The targeting of the personality of Hiso was actually an attack on the wish of the people of Western Kurdistan [Syria’s Kurdish area] in gaining autonomy. We call on all Kurds of Kurdistan to create a circle of protection for Kurds in Western Kurdistan.”