Turkish security forces have killed a member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who is on the country’s most wanted list, the third high-profile militant to be targeted this month. Okay Memis, the governor of the Black Sea province of Gumushane, said that Baris Oner, a PKK fighter of Turkish background code-named Tarik the Turk, had been killed along with another militant — an ethnic Iranian, code-named Sorej — in clashes with security forces in the rural Yesilkoy area of Gumushane on Aug. 22.
Turkish security officials quoted by the pro-government daily Sabah said Oner was the PKK commander in charge of the outfit’s Black Sea region operations and had a bounty of 4 million Turkish liras ($660,960) on his head. Operations were continuing in the area, with elite gendarmerie forces backed by attack helicopters searching for fleeing militants. Memis claimed the PKK had been immobilized in the Black Sea region as a result of the operation, which started three days ago.
