12 Turkish soldiers die of methane gas in the Iraqi cave while looking for remains of comrades killed by militants

Seven more Turkish soldiers have died methane gas Poisoning after a cave search operation in northern Iraq, Turkey’s Ministry of Defense said Monday, which brought the death toll to 12. The soldiers had been looking for the remains of a fellow soldier who previously murdered by Kurds militants.

The troops were looking in a mountain cave when 19 of them were exposed to gas, according to the Ministry. Five of the soldiers died on Sunday for the colorless, toilet and flammable gas that can cause suffocation in sufficient concentration, and seven more succumbed on Monday.

“We pray for the mercy of God with our heroic martyrs who lost their lives in this tragic event,” said the ministry on Monday, also expressing hope for a rapid recovery for other troops that were affected.

He said that Defense Minister Yasar Guler and the commanders of the Armed Forces were traveling to the region to carry out “inspections and evaluations” and attend funeral ceremonies.

The Ministry said that the incident took place in the “Garras Blocking Region”, a reference to an operation launched against the Kurdistan, or PKK workers party, in northern Iraq in April 2022.

The Ministry published a video on social networks that show that six of the dead soldiers were transported back to their cities of origin.

“The bodies of our six heroic comrades that were martyred in the region of the Claw-Lock operation were sent to their cities of origin for burial,” the ministry wrote in X.

There was no immediate information about the condition of the other seven soldiers who were affected by the gas.

He did not explain the origin of methane gas in the caves.

Türkiye and PKK have fought a 40 -year conflict that often spilled in Iraq and Syria. Türkiye has established a series of bases in northern Iraq, where the PKK has been established for decades.

The PKK, considered a terrorist organization in Turkey and the majority of the West, announced in May that it would dissolve and renounce armed conflicts as part of a new peace initiative with Türkiye.

Its combatants are expected to begin to deliver their weapons in the next few days in the first concrete movement towards disarmament.

According to the Ministry, the Turkish unit surpassed by Methane Gas had been looking for the remains of an infantry officer killed by “terrorist shots” during a search mission and clear in May 2022. Recovery teams have been touring the area for the last three years.

The cave where the incident occurred is at an altitude of 2,795 feet and had previously been used by the PKK as a field hospital.

The news of the deaths of the soldiers emerged as a delegation of the Dem Pro-Kurdo party was visiting the founder of PKK in Prison Abdullah Ocalan as part of the ongoing negotiations with the Turkish government.

Agance France-Presse contributed to this report.

• Iraq
• Turkey