Terrorist neutralized in SE Turkey was on wanted list

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

A terrorist neutralized by security forces in southeastern Turkey last year was on the country’s wanted list.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Diyarbakir governor's office identified the suspect as Ramazan Toprak and said he was in the gray category of the wanted list.

Toprak -- codenamed Ramazan Aydin -- was neutralized in a counterterrorism operation by Turkish forces in Diyarbakir’s Lice district on Oct. 30 last year.

The terrorist was among those who martyred three Turkish security personnel and two civilians in April 2017 and March 2018, said the statement.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

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

*Writing by Burak Dag