Bitlis

Two Turkish soldiers were killed, and seven soldiers were wounded in an avalanche blast in the southeastern province of Bitlis during the operation, private broadcaster CNNTürk reported on Jan. 21.

Turkey will grant around 50,000 Syrians citizenship, an Interior Ministry official said on Sept. 22, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.          

Speaking in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, Interior Ministry General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs manager Sinan Güner told the agency the process of granting citizenship had already begun.        

Excavation, restoration and conservation work has started in the historic Seljuk graveyard in the eastern province of Bitlis' Ahlat, which is currently on UNESCO's World Heritage tentative list.

A bear cub which was found by locals in the eastern province of Bitlis' Tatvan district and taken under protection at Van Yüzüncu Yıl University's (YYU) Animal Protection and Rehabilitation Center has been sent to the Karacabey Ovakorusu Bear Shelter and Rehabilitation Center in the northwestern province of Bursa. 

Security forces on June 6 seized 320 kilograms of hashish hidden in 10 sacks in a vehicle that was stopped in the southeastern province of Mardin, the directorate of security has stated.        

The Mardin Provincial Directorate of Security said anti-narcotics units were conducting a control on the Kızıltepe-Derik highway when they stopped the vehicle in question. 

A woman from the southeastern province of Bitlis, who claims to be the oldest person in the world, marked her 118th birthday in April.      

One village guard was killed in an operation against outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in the eastern province of Bingöl on April 4, according to security sources, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.     

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Two Turkish soldiers were killed early on Jan. 14 in an operation conducted by the security forces in eastern Bitlis province of Turkey, according to Bitlis governor's office. 

Two other soldiers were wounded during an operation against outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), said the statement released by the office. 

The General Directorate of Meteorology has announced that it expects snow on Dec. 16 in Istanbul, where temperatures are forecast to be below zero and under seasonal norms.

The bodies of five workers were found and an extensive search to find 12 others was ongoing after a massive landslide occurred at a copper mine in the Şirvan district of the southeastern province of Siirt late on Nov. 17.