Four Turkish soldiers die in 'accidental' munitions blast: Erdogan

Four Turkish soldiers die in 'accidental' munitions blast: Erdogan
An artillery shell exploded "accidentally" at the base at Sungu Tepe in Hakkari province near Turkey's borders with Iraq and Iran, the defence ministry said late on Friday.

2 min read
10 November, 2018
The blast killed four Turkish soldiers [Getty]
Four soldiers were killed and about 20 injured in an explosion at an army munitions depot in southeast Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

An artillery shell exploded "accidentally" at the base at Sungu Tepe in Hakkari province near Turkey's borders with Iraq and Iran, the defence ministry said late on Friday.

It said 25 soldiers were injured and seven missing after Friday's blast.

Erdogan said in a televised speech on Saturday that four soldiers were "martyred" and "about 20" others  wounded. He made no mention of any missing.

It was not clear whether the explosion happened during a combat mission or an exercise.

Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast has seen years of violent fighting between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), classified a "terrorist" group by Ankara and its Western allies.

Turkey also regularly bombs PKK bases in northern Iraq.

After a brief truce, fighting resumed in 2015, shattering hopes for a peaceful resolution to a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984.

Since 2016, Turkey has carried out two operations against Kurdish forces in Syria, the last of which saw Ankara-backed Syrian rebels take the border city of Afrin in March. 

The Turkish government sees the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a deadly insurgency in Turkey since 1984. 

But while the PKK is designated as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, the YPG has no such designation. 

Earlier this month, Turkey once again raised threats against the YPG shelling its positions and warning of a new offensive to clear the militia from its border. 

That sparked concern in Washington as it attempts to balance its ties with the YPG, a key force in the fight against IS, and its NATO ally Ankara.  

The YPG forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the US-led coalition's main ground partner in the fight against IS in Syria. 

But Ankara views the YPG as a "terrorist" group and is set on preventing it from entrenching itself along the border.  

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