Two senior terrorists among 5 neutralized in east Turkey

At least five terrorists including two senior operatives were neutralized in a counter-terror operation in eastern Turkey, the country's Interior Ministry said Monday.

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

The terrorists were neutralized during operations on Dec. 7-8 in the eastern Mus province, the ministry said in a statement.

Among the terrorists was Erdal Tekay, codenamed Zinar Amed, who was a regional operative of the terror group and sought in the grey category of the Interior Ministry's wanted list with 300,000 Turkish liras (around $52,000) bounty on his head.

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

Another senior terrorist Musa Kalkan, codenamed Ciwan Tolhilda, was also among those neutralized in Mus.