What Happened in the Cave? – 12 Turkish Soldiers Killed in Iraq

Turkey announced on Monday the death of twelve Turkish soldiers, who died from methane gas poisoning during an operation conducted in caves in northern Iraq.

According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, the unit was carrying out “a search and exploration operation in a cave used by members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),” designated by Ankara as a “separatist terrorist organization.”

The ministry added on its official website: “Three more heroic comrades-in-arms, who were poisoned by methane gas, lost their lives, bringing the death toll to eight,” without providing an explanation as to why methane gas was present in these natural caves.

Later on, the Turkish authorities confirmed the death toll had risen to twelve soldiers.

On Sunday, the ministry had reported that the military team was searching for the remains of a soldier killed by Kurdish militants in May 2022, whose body has yet to be recovered.

The PKK, which Turkey classifies as a terrorist organization, announced its dissolution on May 12, after more than four decades of armed struggle that left at least 40,000 people dead. The group’s decision followed an appeal by its imprisoned historical leader, Abdullah Öcalan, who has been incarcerated since 1999.

The soldiers’ deaths coincided with a visit on Sunday by a delegation from the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy Party to Abdullah Öcalan, as part of the ongoing peace process with the Turkish government.

The Kurdish delegation stated that “this incident deeply saddened Abdullah Öcalan, as well as all of us,” and extended their “condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is scheduled to meet with the delegation on Monday at 3:00 PM (12:00 GMT).