Nine suspected PKK militants killed in fire in Cizre during operation

ŞIRNAK – Doğan News Agency

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Nine suspected militants, four members of security forces and dozens of outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants have been killed in two towns over two days in the latest spate of violence in Southeast Anatolia.

Nine suspected PKK militants were reportedly killed and 25 others were wounded in a fire that erupted in an apartment building in the southeastern district of Cizre on Feb. 5 where operations are continuing. Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Group Deputy head İdris Baluken wrote on his official Twitter account that nine people had been killed and 25 injured others were still inside the building early Feb. 5, accusing authorities of failing to extinguish the fire.

Şırnak Governor’s office said in a statement that a group of outlawed PKK militants were hiding in the building and they set the building on fire. 

Meanwhile, four members of the security forces were killed in two days of clashes in Cizre and in the southeastern district of Sur in Diyarbakır.

One police officer was killed on Feb. 5 in clashes with the PKK in Cizre, the Şırnak Governor’s Office announced.

Five security forces were wounded during clashes with PKK militants in the Sur district on Feb. 5, as operations continued in curfew-declared neighborhoods in the district. Two of the soldiers later succumbed to their injuries despite all efforts at the Diyarbakır Military Hospital. The General Staff also said three PKK militants were killed in the clashes in Sur.

Another soldier, who was wounded during operations in Sur on Jan. 31, succumbed to his wounds in a military hospital in Ankara late Feb. 4. 

Earlier in the day, the General Staff announced that a total of seven PKK militants had been killed in Sur, while another 11 PKK militants were killed in Cizre on Feb. 5.

Meanwhile, the total number of killed PKK militants during operations in both districts has reached 701, the army’s statement has said.

Also on Feb. 5, four PKK militants were killed during clashes following an armed attack targeting a security directorate building in the city center of Şırnak.

PKK militants opened fire on the Şırnak Security General Directorate’s service building in the Bahçelievler neighborhood with long-barreled weapons.

Security forces immediately responded to the fire, killing four militants.