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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Five Turkish military personnel were killed on Sunday after being exposed to methane gas inside a cave during a search operation in the Kurdistan Region. The operation aimed to recover the body of a Turkish officer killed in 2022, according to Turkey's defense ministry.
In a statement on X, the ministry said that "a tragic search operation" linked to the "Pence-Kilit [Claw-Lock] Operation region resulted in the deaths of five Turkish military personnel on Sunday after they were exposed to methane gas inside a cave.' The team was meticulously combing the area in an ongoing effort to recover the body of Nuri Melih Bozkurt, a Turkish officer 'killed by terrorists in 2022,' the ministry added.
While the statement did not specify the exact location of the incident, Operation Claw-Lock is a Turkish military campaign launched in April 2022, primarily targeting members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the Kurdistan Region's northern Duhok province.
In a statement on X, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he received "with great sorrow, news that some of our heroic soldiers" had "become martyrs," adding they had "sacrificed their lives for Turkey's security and peace."
Senior figures from Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), including Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus and Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, echoed their sentiments.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which has led a months-long initiative to resolve the four-decade conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state, also offered condolences over the deaths of five Turkish soldiers.
In a statement on Sunday, the DEM Party described the incident as part of the ongoing human cost of the conflict, which has claimed over 40,000 lives - mostly PKK fighters. 'The entire society is paying the price for the long-standing conflict and unresolved issues,' the party said, calling for 'social peace and a will for resolution' to prevent further loss of life.
Earlier in the day, DEM Party officials held a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. The pro-Kurdish party cited Ocalan as stating he was 'deeply concerned' by the deadly incident.
Meanwhile, Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Ozgur Ozel also expressed sorrow over the deaths in a statement on X, offering condolences and extending well wishes to the injured.
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