UPDATE - 7 killed in Algeria wildfires

UPDATES DEATH TOLL; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; ADDS DETAILS; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Hassan Cibril

ANKARA (AA) - At least seven people were killed and several others injured as wildfires have spread to 36 locations across 18 provinces of Algeria, authorities said on Tuesday.

One of the provinces affected is Tizi Ouzou, which lies some 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of the capital Algiers.

The Algerian Civil Defense Organization in a written statement said six people died in the fires in Tizi Ouzou province, while another died in the fires in the eastern Setif province.

It was also reported that 19 of the fires started in Tizi Ouzou and the rest in some central regions, mostly in the eastern parts of the country.

Speaking to reporters, Algeria's Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud blamed the simultaneous forest fires on arson, noting that those responsible would be revealed as a result of the investigation.

Many people have been evacuated as teams remain engaged in operations to douse blazes in Tizi Ouzou, according to Yusuf Waleed Mohammed, an official of the provincial forest protection department.

“Authorities are still investigating the cause and are not ruling out the possibility of arson,” he told the local media.

State news agency Algeria Press Service reported that three people have also been injured in the blazes in Tizi Ouzou.

Algeria has been the scene of forest fires that started after the recent extreme heat wave and strong winds from the south.