PKK terrorist neutralized by Turkish intel in N. Iraq

ANKARA

A wanted PKK terrorist was neutralized by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in an operation in northern Iraq, a security source said on Tuesday.

Hizret Calkin, codenamed Dihlaz, was in the gray category of the Interior Ministry’s wanted terrorists list, the source said, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

He joined the terror group in 2011 and was active in Turkey for a few years before fleeing to Syria in 2014.

Calkin was now responsible for movement of PKK/YPG terrorists between Iraq and Syria, according to the source.

Turkish intelligence tracked his activities and neutralized Calkin and other terrorists during a meeting in northern Iraq, the source added.

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

Turkey’s wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange, and gray.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

* Writing by Gozde Bayar