2 'neutralized' PKK terrorists were on wanted list: Turkish interior minister

ISTANBUL

Two terrorists who were "neutralized" by Turkish security forces earlier this week were wanted members of the PKK terror group, a top official said Saturday.

"It was determined that two terrorists neutralized on July 4 were (wanted) in the orange category," Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya tweeted on the operation that targeted active PKK members Mirza Sezek and Kahraman Karatas in the southeastern province of Sirnak.

Türkiye's wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange, and gray.

Sezek, codenamed Mirza Bargiran, had participated in five separate terrorist acts since 2015, Yerlikaya said, adding that these resulted in the death of a member of the gendarmerie and two police.

Codenamed Bengin Bermani, Karatas was involved in six acts of terrorism in 2016-2018 that left a total of 16 security forces injured, he added.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.