PKK terrorist with $400,000 bounty on his head killed in anti-terror ops

Salih Kaplan, known by his nom de guerre Soro, and Hacire Tanhan, coded Zinnarin, were killed on Wednesday, during clashes he engaged in against Turkish security forces carrying out the ongoing ''Operation Martyred Gendarmerie Specialized Sergeant Sezer Aydemir.''

The statement said that both terrorists were killed in the Doğanlı neighborhood of Mardin, and also noted that they were carrying long-barreled weapons, a myriad of explosive materials, and a substantial amount of organizational documents.

The release added that $4,600 and about 10 kilograms of marijuana were also seized inside the shelter where both terrorists were killed on Wednesday.

Kaplan, sought by the authorities with a bounty of 1.5 million Turkish liras, was listed in the ''blue category'' of most wanted terrorists.

The interior ministry categorizes high-ranking terrorists into different colors –red, blue, green, and gray– depending on their threat level to the country.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU. The terror group, which is closely linked with the People's Protection Units (YPG) currently occupying large swathes of lands in northern Syria, resumed its decades-old armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

The terrorist group has murdered over 800 security personnel and 300 civilians since then and has also lost more than 10,000 militants, who were either killed or apprehended in counterterror operations.

Source: Daily Sabah