At least 12 soldiers are gassed to death in a cave after being exposed to deadly methane during hunt for fallen comrade
The troops had been deployed to locate the remains of a comrade who was killed in a clash with Kurdish militants more than three years ago.
The Turkish Ministry of Defence said 19 soldiers were affected by the gas leak during the operation.
In an update posted on X, before the latest tally, the ministry said: 'Three other of our heroic comrades in arms have lost their lives, bringing the total number of martyrs to eight.'
The soldiers had entered the cave complex during a search mission for the body of a Turkish soldier shot dead by fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in May 2022.
Officials said the cave was previously used as a makeshift hospital by PKK militants, who have long operated in the remote terrain along the Turkey-Iraq border.
So far, the source of the methane gas is still unclear.
The operation is part of Turkey's wider military campaign against the PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by Ankara, the United States and the European Union.
The troops were on the hunt for the body of their comrade, who had been shot dead in May 2002
The campaign, known as Operation Claw-Lock, was launched in April 2022 and aims to root out Kurdish fighters based in caves.
The incident comes at a politically sensitive time for Turkey, with discussions reportedly under way to revive peace talks with Kurdish representatives.
The conflict with the PKK has raged since 1984 and has claimed more than 40,000 lives, including civilians, militants and Turkish security forces.
On the same day news of the gas deaths emerged, members of Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM Party attempted to make contact with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Ocalan, who helped found the militant group in the late 1970s, has been imprisoned since 1999 and held in near-total isolation for years.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
12 hours ago
- Reuters
Istanbul mayor's jailed lawyer denounces 'fabricated' charges
ANKARA, July 7 (Reuters) - The lawyer for Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who like the mayor is in jail under an expanding crackdown on Turkey's opposition, told Reuters on Monday he faces "entirely fabricated" charges meant to criminalise the right to a legal defence. Mehmet Pehlivan, who had already been detained for a day in March, was held last month on charges of membership of an unspecified criminal organisation. A probe into the main opposition party, Imamoglu's CHP, was expanded well beyond Istanbul at the weekend, and dozens were detained. The arrest in March of Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, sparked the biggest street protests in a decade, and a sharp selloff in the lira and other Turkish assets. In written responses from prison, Pehlivan said his arrest amounted to a bid to criminalise not only legal defence but the profession of lawyers as a whole: "We are faced with a mindless judicial practice that has severed its ties with reality and truth." Pehlivan said the evidence presented against him was false and based on a purported phone call and meetings he had never held, and alleged ties to a person he had never met. He said his work for Imamoglu had been restricted to his duties as a lawyer. "For the first time in the Republic's history, the practising the law has been categorised as a crime," he wrote. "Even if this categorisation causes a result for me today, its impact is a threat to all lawyers." The government rejects opposition allegations that the probe is politicised and anti-democratic, saying the judiciary is independent. In a statement on Sunday, Erdogan's office said that members of the ruling AK Party had also been investigated and arrested in the past over similar crimes. The office did not immediately respond to Pehlivan's allegation that the charges against him were baseless and a threat to legitimate legal activity.
Reuters
13 hours ago
- Reuters
Turkish assets slide as political crackdown widens
ISTANBUL/LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Turkey's international bonds and lira currency weakened on Monday, and the cost of insuring government debt against default rose, following weekend detentions of opposition mayors. The detentions, which prosecutors say are part of anti-corruption investigations, are seen by the opposition and some foreign leaders as an effort by President Tayyip Erdogan to weaken the Republic People's Party (CHP). Jamie Fallon of Tellimer said the detentions had "fuelled fears around the rule of law and political instability". Turkish assets are notably sensitive to domestic politics, with foreign investors crowding back in after Erdogan's return to orthodox economic policies in 2023, but prepared to ditch them if the latest political developments impact those policies - or the economy more broadly. The lira slid by some 0.2% to beyond 40 against the dollar, before clawing back some of the losses, to trade at 39.99 at 1025 GMT, still weaker than its close on Friday. Turkey's international dollar bonds also slid, with the 2045 maturity shedding nearly 1 cent to be bid at 85 cents on the dollar. And the country's 5-year credit default swap, an indication of the cost of insuring its debt against default, widened by 13 basis points from Friday's close to 292 bps. The mayors of the big southern cities of Adana, Adiyaman and Antalya were taken into custody as part of a corruption investigation, expanding a months-long legal crackdown well beyond its origins in Istanbul. Istanbul's benchmark BIST 100 index (.XU100), opens new tab was down 1.25% at 1050 GMT. The banking index (.XBANK), opens new tab was down 0.58% at the same time, after an earlier drop of 1.68%. The lira has weakened some 11% so far this year on concerns over domestic politics and conflicts in neighbouring countries. There are expectations that Turkey's central bank would begin cutting rates again this month, but the lira's weakness - and the economic impact of the political developments - has thrown that prospect into question. Hilmi Yavas, an Istanbul-based independent macro strategist, said the bank's efforts to stabilize the economy were already under pressure. "High real interest rates still seem necessary to contain domestic demand for foreign currency, while services inflation remains more elevated than a central banker would find comfortable," Yavas said. "Meanwhile, tight monetary policy is placing increasing strain on the real economy."
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
At least 12 soldiers are gassed to death in a cave after being exposed to deadly methane during hunt for fallen comrade
Twelve Turkish soldiers have died after being exposed to methane gas while searching caves in northern Iraq on Sunday. The troops had been deployed to locate the remains of a comrade who was killed in a clash with Kurdish militants more than three years ago. The Turkish Ministry of Defence said 19 soldiers were affected by the gas leak during the operation. In an update posted on X, before the latest tally, the ministry said: 'Three other of our heroic comrades in arms have lost their lives, bringing the total number of martyrs to eight.' The soldiers had entered the cave complex during a search mission for the body of a Turkish soldier shot dead by fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in May 2022. Officials said the cave was previously used as a makeshift hospital by PKK militants, who have long operated in the remote terrain along the Turkey-Iraq border. So far, the source of the methane gas is still unclear. The operation is part of Turkey's wider military campaign against the PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by Ankara, the United States and the European Union. The troops were on the hunt for the body of their comrade, who had been shot dead in May 2002 The campaign, known as Operation Claw-Lock, was launched in April 2022 and aims to root out Kurdish fighters based in caves. The incident comes at a politically sensitive time for Turkey, with discussions reportedly under way to revive peace talks with Kurdish representatives. The conflict with the PKK has raged since 1984 and has claimed more than 40,000 lives, including civilians, militants and Turkish security forces. On the same day news of the gas deaths emerged, members of Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM Party attempted to make contact with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. Ocalan, who helped found the militant group in the late 1970s, has been imprisoned since 1999 and held in near-total isolation for years.
