Turkey says 5 soldiers killed by methane gas during cave search in northern Iraq
Soldiers were searching a mountain cave when 19 of them were exposed to the gas, which is colorless, odorless, flammable and can cause asphyxiation in sufficient concentration.
'They were immediately transported to the hospital (but) despite all interventions, five heroic personnel were martyred,' the ministry said in a statement. 'Rescue operations in the area continue.'
The ministry did not give a specific location for the incident other than the 'Claw-Lock Operation region,' a reference to an operation launched against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in north Iraq in April 2022.
The Turkish unit affected by methane gas was searching for the remains of an infantry officer killed by 'terrorist gunfire' during a search-and-clear operation in May 2022, the ministry said. For the last three years, teams have been hunting for his remains.
The cave was at an altitude of 852 meters (2,795 foot) and was known to have been used as a hospital by the PKK in the past, although it had since been cleared by Turkish soldiers.
The office of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the soldiers were 'exposed to a high concentration of accumulated methane gas.'
Turkey and the PKK have waged a 40-year conflict which has often spilled over into Iraq and Syria. Turkey has set up a series of bases in northern Iraq, where the PKK has been established for decades.
The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and most of the West, announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Turkey.
Its fighters are expected to begin handing over their weapons over the next few days in the first concrete move toward disarmament.
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WIRED
a day ago
- WIRED
The US Military Is Raking in Millions From On-Base Slot Machines
Aug 4, 2025 6:30 AM The Defense Department operates slot machines on US military bases overseas, raising millions of dollars to fund recreation for troops—and creating risks for soldiers prone to gambling addiction. PHOTO-ILLUSTRATION: ANJALI NAIR; GETTY IMAGES When Dave Yeager stumbled upon the chamber of shiny, casino-style slot machines, he felt an instant pull. It was his first night of deployment in Seoul, South Korea, and the United States Army officer was in a bad headspace. The September 11, 2001, attacks had just happened, and he had a wife and two children under the age of 5 at home whom he missed fiercely. He felt lost. Yeager had never seen a slot machine on a military base before—there weren't any in the US—but he figured trying his luck couldn't make things worse. 'As I'm sitting there, the first thing I'm noticing is that my shoulders are relaxing,' Yeager remembers. 'Then, I won. In that moment, all the stress, the anxiety, the pain, the hurt, the fear—it washed away.' Pulling the slot machine's levers felt like a salve—until they didn't. Yeager found another room filled with slot machines at his next base. Over a period of about three months, he spiraled into what he says was a 'devastating obsession' with playing the military-run casino games. He eventually drained his savings, sold his stuff, even stole from his unit. He didn't tell anyone what was going on. 'I thought no one could help me,' he says. While not everyone who plays the slots struggles like Yeager did, a growing body of evidence indicates that veterans and service members are more likely to struggle with gambling disorders than civilians, says Shane W. Kraus, an associate professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who studies gambling disorders. Service members also tend to be more hesitant to seek help, out of fear of losing rank, security clearance, or being dishonorably discharged, he adds. Not much has changed since Yeager served—in fact, within the last five years, the slot machine programs the military runs have been making increasing amounts of cash. And, some advocates say, they're not funneling enough of what they make into education on problem gambling. Drafted Into Debt The Army Recreation Machine Program (ARMP) currently operates 1,889 slot machines in 79 locations abroad, including Korea, Japan, and Germany, according to Neil Gumbs, general manager, Army Recreation Machine Program (ARMP) Installation Management Command (IMCOM). The ARMP brought in $70.9 million from its slot machine operations during the 2024 fiscal year, according to a document obtained by WIRED. That year, the ARMP made $53 million in net proceeds. (The ARMP program covers slots on Army, Navy, and Marine Corps bases, while the Air Force also has their own version of the program.) Those figures have been increasing. In the fiscal year 2023, the ARMP brought in $64.8 million in revenue, with $48.9 million in net proceeds. The year before, it made $63.1 million in revenue with net proceeds of $47.3 million, according to documents obtained through a public records request made by this reporter through the Data Liberation Project. From October 2024 to May 2025, the ARMP's 'house' has had some solid wins. They generated about $47.7 million from players in that period, records obtained by WIRED show. Comparatively, the total return to players from October 2024 to May 2025 was about $37 million in reportable jackpots over $1,200. In its heyday, the ARMP brought in over $100 million in revenue, per a 2017 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), but money-in dwindled substantially between 2010 to 2020, which Gumbs attributed to 'movement and reductions in force and installations.' Things began to grow again after 2020. This was partly a boost from Covid-19 boredom, along with 'renewed investment in new equipment and cost/expense reductions aided in increasing entertainment on offer,' Gumbs says. This was a few years after the ARMP installed 'Morning Calm,' a popular gambling room on the Army base Camp Humphreys in South Korea (likely a reference to the country's nickname, 'The Land of the Morning Calm'). Slots at the Morning Calm location bring in considerably more than other bases, securing the ARMP more than $6 million from October 2024 through May 2025. Second place? 'Ocean Breeze' at Camp Butler/Foster in Japan. With names like that, you'd think these locations were offering serenity—not siphoning savings. But folks like Yeager claim that's exactly what they're doing. When asked for comment on Yeager's experience, the ARMP's Gumbs said: 'ARMP is affiliated with the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG). Additionally, we promote responsible gambling, and all gaming areas and machines prominently display the national gambling hotline number.' A spokesperson for the NCPG notes that the ARMP became a member as of June 2025, after WIRED began looking into this story. The ARMP also says it tracks which kinds of gaming machines people play the most, and how much revenue comes from each kind. For instance, 88 Fortunes—a progressive jackpot game inspired by Asian culture—is one of the most popular. It brought in more than $3 million to the house between October 2024 and May 2025. Another game, Novomatic Impera HD 5, brought in $4.3 million during that period. Operations like Morning Calm appear much more organized than what Yeager remembers from his time in the service: 'It's like they had an extra back room, so they threw 50 slot machines in there,' Yeager recalls. He describes some rooms as the size of an average fast-food chain dining room, though the one he played in most in Seoul had maybe 200 machines. He says the atmosphere is 'club-like' and dark. Not all of ARMP cash is coming from service members—local civilians, retirees, veterans, and contractors who work on bases can also play—but a portion of the money the house generates is taken from a vulnerable population that's literally putting their existence on the line for their country. The money doesn't go into thin air. The ARMP's earnings go back into each branch's Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR). Some of it pays for entertainment on bases, such as golf courses, bowling alleys, and libraries. 'Proceeds that are returned to MWR are decided and allocated by the garrison commander at each installation,' Gumbs tells WIRED via email. (Garrison commanders are leaders sometimes described as 'city managers' of Army installations.) Yeager and other experts say the work the MWR does is important. But he and other experts argue that the military must invest more in prevention, education, and treatment from problem gambling. Slot History Even though Congress banned gambling devices from domestic US bases in 1951, it's done little to curb the ARMP on bases abroad. In the early 2000s, Congress asked the Pentagon to study how on-base slots impacted military families like Yeager's. The Pentagon originally hired consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to do the study, but within months ended the contract to complete the research itself. Rachel Volberg, who worked on the original PricewaterhouseCoopers report, tells WIRED that, while she was never told exactly why they decided to take it in-house, she got the strong impression 'they didn't want the money to disappear because they were using it to fund recreational activities for enlisted folks.' She remembers chaplains as the main authority figures in leadership who took the issue seriously. The final report didn't reference new problem-gambling rates, but noted that the military couldn't keep many of its morale operations like golf courses running 'without slot machine revenue or a significant new source of cash.' Volberg now studies problem gambling at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.# Asked for comment on the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, an IMCOM spokesperson, referred WIRED to the Pentagon, which referred WIRED back to the Army. The Army's Public Affairs team also didn't respond to a request from WIRED on this matter. After the 2017 GAO report raised concerns, Congress passed a provision under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which, for the first time, required screening for gambling disorders every year for service members. A 2018 bill that would have required the DOD to create policies and programs to prevent and treat gambling disorders failed to gain traction. Last year, US representative Paul Tonko, a New York Democrat, proposed an amendment to the NDAA that would ban the operation of slots on bases. That didn't pass either. 'Our brave service men and women sacrifice everything,' Tonko tells WIRED. 'We must do all we can to support them by confronting problem gambling head-on.' Perhaps counterintuitively, Yeager disagrees with abolishing the ARMP outright. 'They do generate money for good causes,' he says, noting that having recreation on bases is key, particularly since eliminating the slots won't eliminate ways to bet online, or the boredom and anxiety many service members feel. Instead, he wishes the ARMP would dedicate more of its millions to helping folks struggling like he did. 'Rather than just eliminate them, why don't you mandate a small percentage of that money be turned back over into education, screening, and treatment?' Yeager says. He'd like to see a broad education campaign and more controls. Other advocates want to see more money put into research and treatment programs, along with adding responsible gambling tools and information, says Cait Huble, communications director for the NCPG. In a 2022 review of the DOD's responsible gambling policies compared with those of US states, the Kindbridge Research Institute, a nonprofit that focuses on gambling-related issues faced by veterans and other groups, found the DOD had the worst, compared to other jurisdictions with legal slot machine gambling in America. When asked for comment on this report and whether more responsible gambling tools have been put in place since the Kindbridge review, Gumbs said that 'proceeds that are returned to MWR are decided and allocated by the garrison commander at each installation,' and reiterated ARMP's affiliation with NCPG and its commitment to 'responsible gambling.' Another IMCOM spokesperson tells WIRED the NCPG partnership 'provides us with insights, tools, and materials that help increase the visibility of responsible gaming at our locations, while also keeping ARMP aligned with the broader industry and any real-time updates from NCPG.' In 2020, the Army updated its regulations to 'provide information' to both soldiers and civilians about problem gambling. However, Huble says this isn't enough. 'Checking the box and saying: 'We have information, there's a brochure in the health office,' it's certainly different than making sure that clinicians and even commanders are trained in how to handle a situation where a soldier says they have a gambling problem.' Meanwhile, another GAO report on problem gambling is expected, but some, like responsible gambling lobbyist Brianne Doura-Schawohl, say it's 'long overdue.' It's also unclear how recent funding cuts by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the administration of President Donald Trump, a former casino mogul, will impact the report and future policy. Yeager says that any recent DOD updates to gambling prevention policy have been 'rudimentary at best,' adding: 'There's still a long way to go.' Clear and Present Danger For years, Yeager felt that neither the Army nor the Department of Veterans Affairs knew how to help him. That is, until 2007. He showed up to the VA (not for the first time) looking for help. By this time, he'd been disciplined and eventually released by the Army for his gambling, had separated from his wife, and survived multiple suicide attempts. Finally, a counselor dug through her desk and procured a pamphlet. 'I swear to god, she blew the dust off of it before handing it to me,' he says. It mentioned one of the VA's few gambling treatment programs in the country, located in Ohio. This was what finally helped him. Now, he's in recovery, spending his time working to improve the way the DOD handles problem gambling. 'Because I didn't fulfill my obligation as a noncommissioned officer, I try to fulfill it now as a veteran in recovery,' he says. 'This is where I try to pay it forward.' If Yeager could talk to defense secretary Pete Hegseth today, he has one main message to get across, starting but not ending with the gambling rooms 'where the seed of gambling disorder was planted,' he says. 'Educating soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen that this is a real addiction and that there's treatment that could improve readiness and could bring people out of the woodwork who are scared to go to treatment,' he says. 'It would not be difficult to do.' For those struggling with problem gambling, you can contact 1-800-GAMBLER for the National Problem Gambling Helpline.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
IDF soldier in critical condition from third-degree burns after suspected accident
The burns affected G's head, face, ears, chest, back, and hands, and he was evacuated to hospital, where he is currently in critical condition in intensive care, according to his sister. A soldier in the IDF's Caracal Battalion was badly burned while waiting for a conversation with one of his commanders on Tuesday, according to statements on Sunday. The soldier, who is identified as G, is 20 years old, and suffered third-degree burns to 30% of his body in an incident believed to be an accident when the base's Chief Sergeant First Class lit a cigarette nearby with a soldier pouring gasoline at the scene, leading to an ignition. G was likely injured as a result of the burning of flammable material leaking from a gasoline container. The incident is under investigation. The burns affected G's head, face, ears, chest, back, and hands, and he was evacuated to hospital, where he is currently in critical condition in intensive care, according to his sister. The Chief Sgt. First Class ordered his soldier to pour the gasoline but there are no reports that they knew G was at the scene. Sources close to G say he had previously suffered significant hearing loss as a result of prolonged exposure to noise during his earlier military service, which resulted in lowering his medical profile, and removing him from a combat position, placing him as kitchen staff on the army base, which he reportedly felt contradicted his aspirations and abilities. Fighting to change this issue is reportedly why G was planning to meet with his commander. He had been attempting to change his status for the past six months. His attempts included requesting a meeting with an IDF mental health officer (Kaban), but was denied. He also previously asked for meetings with commanders, but did not receive a response. The IDF corroborated the event, stating that "an IDF soldier was moderately injured at a military base in the south of the country. The soldier was taken to a hospital for medical treatment, and his family was notified. Following the incident, an investigation was opened by the Military Police, and upon its completion, the findings will be referred to the military prosecution for review." Soldier's sister comments publicly G's sister posted about the event on her personal Instagram page over the weekend. "He always wanted to contribute. He wanted to serve the country. He had insane motivation, for everything," she wrote. "30% of his body covered, third-degree burns. His head, face, ears, chest, back, and hands. He is in intensive care. He is fighting for his life. And we ask, how could something like this happen to a soldier in the IDF? Share. Let him be recognized. Let the truth be known," she concluded. Solve the daily Crossword
Associated Press
a day ago
- Associated Press
Photos of searchers seeking victims of a Hiroshima bombing 80 years later on a nearby island
NINOSHIMA, Japan (AP) — When the first atomic bomb detonated 80 years ago on Aug. 6, thousands of the dead and dying were brought to the small, rural island of Ninoshima, just south of Hiroshima, by military boats with crews that had trained for suicide attack missions. Because of poor medicine and care, only a few hundred were alive when the field hospital closed Aug. 25, according to historical records. They were buried in various locations in chaotic and rushed operations. Decades later, people in the area are looking for the remains of the missing, driven by a desire to account for and honor the victims and bring relief to survivors who are still tormented by memories of missing loved ones. Rebun Kayo, a Hiroshima University researcher, regularly visits Ninoshima to search for remains. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
