Turkish Armed Forces photoFive militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party were killed today in a clash with Turkish security forces in the southeastern Bitlis province.
The five militants, two of them women, were killed in Tatvan district in Bitlis, a day after a similar clash in neighboring Siirt province left two militants dead.
Fighting usually escalates in spring as snow melts along the mountainous Iraqi-Turkish border, enabling PKK militants holed up in rough terrain to launch attacks more easily.
The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. (ANKARA - Agence France-Presse)
