Turkey says soldier died in cross-border fire along border with Iran

A Turkish soldier was killed over the weekend during a cross-border fire incident along the border with Iran, the defense ministry says, indicating both countries are investigating the incident.

“On October 31, while intervening in an illegal crossing in the area of the Engin Mayin border post on the Turkey-Iran border,” a soldier was killed “as a result of fire assessed to have come from Iran,” the ministry says in a post on X.

The soldier “was wounded during the intervention” but, despite efforts to treat him, he “could not be saved,” it says.

The Turkish authorities immediately began an investigation and met up with Iranian officials to discuss the matter “on November 3,” it says.

Iran has also opened an investigation “to clarify the incident in question,” it says, indicating efforts “to fully elucidate the incident are being meticulously continued in coordination with Iranian authorities.”

Engin Mayin is a military border post along the 500-kilometer (300-mile) frontier between Turkey and Iran.