ANKARA 

One of 10 terrorists "neutralized" in Turkey’s eastern Bitlis province last month was Sefer Acar, who was responsible for the martyring of 15 Turkish soldiers in 1998, the Interior Ministry announced on Thursday.

“Neutralized” is a term used by Turkish authorities to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

Acar, also known as Welat Gever, was on Turkey’s terrorist wanted list, in the red category, the most wanted category.

On June 28, gendarmerie forces conducted a counter-terror operation in the village of Kocyigit in the Bitlis province, where the PKK/KCK's so-called “Garzan province” head Acar was neutralized, said a ministry statement.

Acar was the perpetrator of a PKK attack in northern Iraq against a gendarmerie helicopter which martyred 15 Turkish soldiers.

On Acar’s person, security units found a Turkish bank note dated 1998 with a note saying "Money from helicopter pilot downed in Herko 11-27-1998." The terrorist had kept the “souvenir” of his deadly attack for 20 years.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children.

Reporting by Mehmet Tosun:Writing by Merve Aydogan