Methane gas kills 12 Turkish soldiers in the Iraq operation

The Turkish Ministry of National Defense said that twelve Turkish soldiers died after they were subjected to methane while searching in a cave in northern Iraq.

At least 19 gas employees were exposed during the search and clear operation on Sunday, and they were immediately transferred to the hospital. By Monday, he died 12, and the ministry said.

President Recep Tayeb Erdogan said that he had received the news with “great sadness” and his condolences for the families of the Turkish soldiers and armed forces.

Methane gas is not toxic directly, but it can be fatal because it can become suffocating, especially in closed narrow spaces.

It is still unclear why the cave contained enough methane gas to make it fatal.

A farewell party was held for some of the soldiers who were killed at an airport in the South Turkish province of Hakari on Monday. It was attended by the Turkish Minister of Defense and many high -ranking officials from the armed forces.

Then the bodies were transported to their cities.

The soldiers were searching for the body of a soldier who was killed in a shooting in May 2022 during the lock clutch operation – a military operation led by Turkey against militants from the PKK in Iraq, which included air strikes on the caves in addition to the ground incursion.

The Kurdistan Workers Party – which was banned as a terrorist group in Türkiye, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States – has been inspiring a 40 -year rebellion against Türkiye.

The initial goal of the group was when it started fighting with Türkiye in the 1980s was to create an independent home for the Kurds. Then she moved away from her separatist goals, with a focus instead on more independence and the rights of the greater Kurds.

Over the past four decades, more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

In March, the PKK Declared a ceasefire In May, he said that he would determine, saying that she had “completed her historical mission” and would “end the method of armed struggle.”

In the first important step towards peace since the announcement, the PKK said that a group of fighters will put weapons this week in Iraqi Kurdistan.