Senior PKK terrorist killed in anti-terror operation in northern Iraq, military says

A senior PKK terrorist who was on Turkey's most wanted list was killed last month in an airstrike in northern Iraq, the Turkish Armed Forces said.

According to the statement released on Sunday, Birdal Burhanlı, code-named Agiri Mazlum Pirdoğan, was the terrorist group's leader in northern Iraq's Hakurk region and was on the Turkish Interior Ministry's most wanted terrorist red list, the top tier.

The militant was killed on March 21 during an operation conducted in northern Iraq's Hakurk-Kani-Rash region.

Terrorists are categorized into different color groups – red, blue, green and gray – depending on the level of threat they pose for the country's national security. Red is considered the highest threat level.

The most recent update of Turkey's wanted list has 44 new figures on the red list, 26 on the blue list, 34 on the green list, 37 on the orange and 89 on the gray list.

So far, 164 names on the most-wanted-terrorists list have been killed. After the practice was implemented some two-and-a-half years ago, two names from the red list, 13 from the blue, 21 from the green, 15 from the orange and 112 from the gray list were killed in anti-terror operations. Accordingly, those who help security forces capture or neutralize terrorists on the list are rewarded, with 12.5 million Turkish liras distributed so far.

The red category also includes U.S.-based Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) leader Fetullah Gülen, PKK senior figures Cemil Bayık, Murat Karayılan and Duran Kalkan and Daesh-linked İlhami Balı.