At least 12 Turkish military personnel died in northern Iraq in the last hours from gas inhalation during an operation in a former PKK terrorist group hideout in the mountains of this region bordering Turkey. A total of 19 soldiers were exposed to the gas, therefore the number of casualties could rise.
Turkish media initially reported that eight soldiers died in the incident, which occurred yesterday while a group of Turkish soldiers were carrying out a search operation in the area to recover the body of Lieutenant Nuri Melih Bozkut, who died on 28 May as part of Operation Pençe-Kilit (Claw-Lock) launched in northern Iraq in April 2022.
It was while entering a cave previously used by the PKK as a hospital that the soldiers suffered methane gas poisoning, affecting a total of 19 soldiers, eight of whom died shortly afterwards despite being immediately evacuated to a hospital. Initial investigations indicate that the gas had accumulated naturally inside the cave. The Turkish Ministry of Defence later reported that the death toll had risen to 12.
“On 6 July 2025, during the Claw-Lock Operation in the region, in the course of a search and screening operation carried out in a cave used by members of the separatist terrorist organisation (PKK) on Hill 852, 4 more of our heroic comrades-in-arms were martyred after being affected by methane gas. The number of martyred (dead) troops has increased to 12,” the statement released by the ministry on its social media said. “We are deeply saddened by this incident and convey our condolences to the families of our deceased soldiers, the Turkish Armed Forces and our noble nation, and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” the defence ministry added.
According to Turkish media reports, the names of the first eight Turkish military personnel dead are Ege Akar, Abdurrahman Akdoğan, Özkan Özkanlı, Mahsun Yeşildemir, Ahmet Kuşak, Ümit Üzüm, Celattin Uyanık and Ahmet Gültekin. Several members of the government in Turkey have already expressed their condolences following this incident, including Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, who in a message said he was “deeply saddened by the martyrdom of our heroic soldiers during Operation Claw-Lock in the region. We stand with their families and our armed forces at this time of grief.”
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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