By Yunus Okur
ERZURUM, Turkey
A total of 760 PKK terrorists, including senior representatives targeting civilians, in their bid to disrupt peace in Turkey have been "neutralized" as part of anti-terror operations across the country and abroad over the last three months.
Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in statements to imply the terrorists in question either surrendered, were killed or captured.
Turkish Armed Forces, Security General Directorate, General Command of Gendarmerie and National Intelligence Service resolutely continue to chase terrorist organizations that try to disturb the peace and brotherhood in the country.
According to information compiled by Anadolu Agency, 35 security officers were martyred during the attacks of YPG/PKK between June 1 and Aug. 31.
During the attacks, six civilians, including an 11-month-old baby were killed, while 52 security officers were injured.
A total of 180 people, including officials from Peoples' Democratic Party’s (HDP) and Democratic Regions Party (DBP), were remanded in custody as part of operations across Turkey.
Security forces also destroyed shelters and depots of terrorists, mainly in Turkey's eastern and southeastern provinces.
Terrorists neutralized
Kaniar Muslim, codenamed "Kurtay Rojova", was neutralized on June 2 in the rural of eastern Tunceli province. During the same operation, Ramazan Yasugev and Erkan Ordu, who were in the grey category of the interior ministry's wanted list, were among the neutralized terrorists.
The wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and grey.
On June 13, Turkish security forces neutralized Ertan Erol, who had the codename Ferhat Dersim and was mentioned in the grey category.
On June 14, Fatih Kirtay, codenamed "Dilovan Bahtiyat", and Rojbin Akyol, codenamed "Dicle Hevirdar", were neutralized during a clash between security forces and terrorists in Lice district of southeastern Diyarbakir province.
On June 28, Sefer Acar was neutralized during an operation in eastern Bitlis province.
Acar, who was in the red category, was the perpetrator of a terrorist attack against Turkish gendarmes during an operation in 1998 in the north of Iraq. Turkish gendarmes' Sikorsky helicopter was shot down during the attack in which 15 soldiers were martyred.
Hasan Cakmak, codenamed Delil Karakocan, was among the three terrorists killed in the airstrikes in northern Iraq on July 13. Cakmak was "the logistics coordinator" of the PKK.
A suspect identified by the initials C.D., the terrorist PKK’s so-called top representative in Scandinavia and wanted under Interpol red notices, was captured in Denmark.
Mehmet Yakisir, codenamed "Zeynel", PKK's so-called top member in the Black Sea region, was also neutralized on July 15.
Yakisir, who was in the red category of Turkey’s wanted list, had killed 15-year-old Eren Bulbul last year in the Macka district of Trabzon province.
Osman Gulen, codenamed Aram Civan, who was neutralized on July 23 in Diyarbakir -- was in the grey category of the most wanted list.
During an operation on Aug. 6, Ilker Tezer, codenamed "Yusuf", the so-called representative of the far-left TKP/ML terror group, was neutralized in Tunceli.
In the same operation, Cumhur Sinan Oktulmus -- codenamed "Deniz Dogan" -- on the orange list, was also neutralized.
- Terrorists to pay price
Ibrahim Coban, codenamed "Atakan Mahir", was in the Turkish Interior Ministry’s red category of wanted terrorists list; he had been the so-called Dersim region head of the terror group for the past 25 years. He was killed on Aug. 11 in Tunceli.
PKK's so-called representative in eastern Erzurum province Mahmut Lacin was also neutralized.
Omer Duran and Pinar Yildirim were among those neutralized in August.
On Aug. 15, a senior PKK/KCK figure in Iraq's northern Sinjar province, Ismail Ozden, codenamed "Mam Zeki Sengali", was neutralized in a joint operation of the Turkish Armed Forces and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in Sinjar.
On Aug. 20, the so-called PKK representatives in southeastern Sirnak province, Yusuf Sungur and Serbest Gun were also neutralized.
Codenamed "Turk Tarik", Baris Oner, another PKK terrorist who was wanted in the red category, was neutralized on Aug. 19.
- Operations continue in northern Iraq
Turkish Air Forces continue with air operations in northern Iraq's Hakurk, Gara, Zap, Qandil and Avasin-Basyan regions to purge terrorists.
At least 400 terrorists were neutralized during the operations in northern Iraq. Turkish forces also destroyed the positions and shelters of the terrorists.
