Twelve Turkish soldiers died after being exposed to methane gas during a search operation in caves in northern Iraq on Sunday, the defense ministry said.
The incident comes at a sensitive time with Turkey in talks to end the conflict with the Kurds after the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) agreed to end its decades-long armed struggle.
The conflict, which began in 1984, has cost more than 40,000 lives.
The incident occurred as they were searching for the remains of a soldier who was shot dead by Kurdish fighters in the area in May 2022, whose body was never recovered, the ministry said.
At the time, Turkey was waging Operation Claw Lock, with its troops seeking to eradicate Kurdish PKK militants holed up in caves along the border.
“During a search operation in a cave … previously known to have been used as a hospital … 19 of our personnel were exposed to methane gas.” it said.
They were taken to a hospital for treatment, but five died, the ministry said in a statement Sunday. In two separate statements Monday, it announced that three more soldiers had died, followed by four others.
The ministry released the names of the eight soldiers but did not identify the other four.
News of the deaths emerged as a delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) was visiting jailed PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan as part of the ongoing negotiations with the Turkish government.
“During the meeting, we were informed that there were soldiers who lost their lives due to methane gas poisoning in the territory of the Kurdistan Regional Government,” the delegation said. 
“This incident caused Mr Öcalan and all of us deep sadness. We wish Allah’s mercy to those who lost their lives and offer our condolences to their families and relatives.”
© Agence France-Presse