Turkish security forces ‘neutralize’ 4 terrorists in eastern Türkiye

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkish security forces “neutralized” four PKK terrorists in eastern Türkiye, the country’s Interior Ministry announced on Saturday.

Veysi Demir, also known by his code name Agit and the three other terrorists, were “neutralized” in Bitlis province, the ministry said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Demir was wanted in the orange category of the Interior Ministry's color-coded list. The list is divided into five categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and gray.

“As a result of the examination of the past activities of treacherous terrorists, it has been determined that they were involved in five incidents in Bitlis between 2015 and 2021, during which 11 security personnel were martyred and 19 security personnel were injured,” the minister added.

Ali Yerlikaya further said that Türkiye will continue counter-terrorism operations until “the last terrorist is neutralized.”

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

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