18 September 2018•Update: 18 September 2018
By Gazi Nogay
CANKIRI, Turkey
Turkey has neutralized 65 terrorists marked in the country’s wanted list in 2018, the interior minister said on Tuesday.
Turkish Interior Ministry’s list of wanted terrorists is divided into five color-coded categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and grey.
“Last year, we neutralized 63 terrorists in this [wanted terrorist] list. Before the end of this year, our sons [security personnel] neutralized 65 terrorists,” Suleyman Soylu said in central Cankiri province.
Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.
Soylu also recalled Monday’s anti-terror operation in eastern Tunceli province, which neutralized ten more terrorists.
Reiterating firm stance in fight against terrorism, Soylu said Turkey crossed out the names in wanted terror list one by one recently.
The minister also said the PKK -- which has “tried to divide this country for years citing ethnic differences as an excuse” -- is close to draw the “last breath”.
On Sept. 13, a PKK terrorist listed on the grey category was "neutralized" in eastern Bingol province as part of Turkey's latest counter-terror operations.
The terrorists was identified as Firat Dagdelen, codnamed Servan Cevlik, according to the Interior Ministry.
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 deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women and children.
