ANKARA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkish forces "neutralized" five militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), including one in the most-wanted category, in the country's eastern region, said Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya Thursday.
"Five terrorists were neutralized in the rural areas of Dogubayazit district in Agri province and Palamut village in the Hasankeyf district of Batman province," Yerlikaya said on X, formerly Twitter.
Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralize" in their statements to imply the alleged "terrorists" have either surrendered, been killed, or been captured.
Among the five was Yilmaz Oner, also known by his code name as Sehmus Malazgirt, who was in the red category of the Interior Ministry's color-coded list, he said.
The list is divided into five categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and gray.
Listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union, the PKK is based in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, an area where Türkiye frequently conducts airstrikes and maintains military outposts. ■
