Turkish security forces killed a wanted PKK terrorist who participated in a bomb attack targeting the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) headquarters in eastern Van province, a statement by the Van Governor’s Office said Wednesday.
According to the statement, the terrorist named Mustafa Ertaş, codenamed Reşit, was killed in an air-backed operation in Gürpınar district’s Dikbıyık neighborhood on May 27.
The terrorist was listed under the Interior Ministry’s orange category of the wanted list, the statement said.
The terrorist drove the bomb-laden vehicle from rural Gürpınar to downtown Van to carry out a bomb attack targeting the AK Party headquarters there in 2016 and used a rocket launcher against an armored police vehicle the same year.
He was a top figure who was responsible for the terrorist group’s activities in rural areas, the statement said.
The Interior Ministry's most wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red indicating the greatest threat to Turkey's national security, followed by blue, green, orange and gray.
Meanwhile, the Turkish military also killed at least five PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
The terrorists were killed in Haftanin and Hakurk regions after they were detected through reconnaissance and surveillance activities, the ministry said in a tweet.
In another operation, conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces in coordination with the Turkish National Intelligence Organization, five more terrorists were "neutralized" in Asos region.
The ministry said they were also located through reconnaissance and surveillance missions.
The country's counter-terror operations will continue without letup, the ministry said.
PKK terrorists often take shelter in northern Iraq to plan cross-border terrorist attacks in Turkey.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union, has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children.
