Probe ongoing over death of 12 troops in northern Iraq: Ministry
ANKARA
A probe launched by the Defense Ministry over the killing of 12 Turkish troops in a cave in northern Iraq due to a methane gas explosion is continuing, the ministry's spokesman has said.
“The administrative investigation process regarding the incident in question is ongoing and the incident is being examined in detail in all its aspects,” Zeki Aktürk told a weekly briefing on July 10.
Twelve Turkish soldiers died after being exposed to methane gas during a search operation in a cave in the northern Iraq on July 6. They were part of a 19-member team who was searching for the remains of a soldier killed by PKK in May 2022 in the area of Operation Claw Lock — a cross-border operation launched to target the terrorist organization’s hideouts in northern Iraq.
According to the ministry sources, Turkish troops searched in total 3,765 caves in northern Iraq since 2019 and no such incident occurred in any operations. Sources informed that searches in the cave where the Turkish troops were killed started on July 1 by first sending scout dogs.
They informed that 12 troops in three groups separately entered the cave on July 6 as no negative situation was detected by the scout dog.
“Five personnel outside the cave immediately entered the cave to rescue their friends after receiving a call for help. Some of those who entered also began to stumble and faint. Then, 12 personnel outside entered the cave in pairs and attempted to rescue the personnel affected by the gas,” sources said.
Such an incident has never happened before, sources said, describing it as unpredictable and extraordinary.
The bodies of seven troops could be taken from the cave after pumping oxygen, the ministry sources informed. They have also stressed that necessary precautions will be taken to avoid similar incidents in the future in the light of lessons taken from this tragedy.
