The death of 12 Turkish soldiers in Iraq has caused an uproar in the capital Ankara. Questions have also been raised about what Turkish soldiers were doing in Iraq without war and fighting. The Turkish Defense Ministry clarified that the soldiers were involved in a search operation in a cave in northern Iraq. During this, exposure to methane gas became fatal. The soldiers were examining evidence of a fellow soldier killed by Kurdish rebels when they came into contact with methane gas. Five soldiers died instantly due to the colorless, odorless and flammable gas. While 7 more soldiers died on Monday, people in Turkey were in mourning. This incident took place in the Kale-Lok region. The operation was in the context of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in April 2022. There had been a conflict between Turkey and the PKK for the last 40 years, which has only recently come to an end. Turkey considers the PKK organization, which demands the creation of a separate Kurdistan, a terrorist organization. In addition to Turkey, the PKK, which leads the Kurds, has bases in Iraq. Turkey has deployed a team of soldiers in Iraq to monitor the activities of the PKK. A military officer from this team’s ground forces died in a terrorist attack in 2022. Turkish soldiers have been investigating the incident for the last 3 years. As part of this investigation, entering the cave, located at an altitude of 852 meters, became an invitation to death.
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