Turkey 'neutralizes' most wanted PKK terrorist abroad

Turkey "neutralized" a most-wanted PKK/KCK terrorist in an operation in northern Iraq, the Turkish General Staff said on Wednesday.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

Turkish Army said on Twitter that PKK/KCK's senior figure of Sinjar town, Ismail Ozden -- codenamed Mam Zeki Sengali -- was neutralized in a joint operation by Turkish Armed Forces and intelligence in Sinjar.

It is reported that Ozden, 66, is the first PKK/KCK terrorist in the red-category "neutralized" by Turkey in an operation abroad.

The wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red as the most wanted followed by blue, green, orange and grey.

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 death of some 40,000 people.

The operation was named after Bedirhan Mustafa Karakaya, an 11-month baby who was martyred in PKK bomb attack.

Last month, the baby and his mother Nurcan were martyred in a roadside bombing in the Yuksekova district of southeastern province of Hakkari.

Ozden was actively operating in Europe from 1992 to 1996.

Arrested in Germany for "being PKK member" and "attacking workplaces of Turkish people" in 1996, Ozden was released in 1998.

In 2018, Ozden began spearheading PKK/KCK terror activities in Sinjar.