Turkey says 8 soldiers killed by methane gas during search operation in north Iraq caves

Turkey says that three more of its soldiers had died after being exposed to methane gas during a search operation in caves in northern Iraq, bringing the total toll to eight.

The incident comes at a sensitive time with Turkey in talks to end the conflict with the Kurds after the PKK militant group agreed to end its decades-long armed struggle.

The conflict, which began in 1984, has cost more than 40,000 lives.

The deaths occurred as the Turkish troops were searching for the remains of a soldier who was shot dead by Kurdish fighters in the area in May 2022 and whose body was never recovered, Turkey’s defense ministry says.

“Three other of our heroic comrades in arms, affected by methane gas, have died, bringing the total number of victims to eight,” the ministry says on X on Monday.

It does not explain the origin of the methane gas in the caves.