Nine civilians killed in fire in Cizre during operation

Nine civilians, 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 people 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 ?dris 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 and send ambulance to the area.

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

One police officer was killed on Feb. 5 in clashes with the PKK in Cizre, the ??rnak 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 Diyarbak?r 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,...