ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Two members of Turkish security forces were killed during clashes with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Bitlis on Wednesday, the country’s interior minister announced. Minister Suleyman Soylu said in a tweet that a member of the local gendarmerie and a village guard were killed in the Tatvan district of Bitlis province during clashes with the PKK. Turkey is carrying out Operation Eren-11 in the area. Four members of Turkish security forces were injured in the skirmish, Soylu added. The multi-phased operation is named after 15-year-old Eren Bulbul, who was killed during a clash between Turkish forces and the PKK in Trabzon province on August 11, 2017. According to Turkish media, Bulbul had spotted some PKK fighters in his hometown of Macka and informed the police, who accompanied him to the area where he was later killed. The PKK confirmed their involvement in the clash in Trabzon province but did not mention Bulbul. Turkey blames the PKK for his death, and has cast him as a hero in their fight against the armed group ever since. The PKK is an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. It is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara. Turkey carries out domestic and cross-border military operations in the Kurdistan Region against the PKK. The group is yet to publish a statement on the fighting that occurred in Bitlis on Wednesday.
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