The Turkish Defence Ministry said eight soldiers have died after being exposed to methane gas during a cave search in northern Iraq’s Pençe-Kilit (Claw-Lock) Operation zone. The incident occurred on 6 July, when a 19-member team entered a cave at an altitude of 852 metres that had previously been used as a PKK field hospital. Five soldiers succumbed shortly after the poisoning, and a ministry update on 7 July confirmed that three of the 14 wounded later died in hospital, lifting the death toll to eight. The remaining 11 soldiers continue to receive medical treatment. The unit had been looking for the remains of Infantry Lt. Nuri Melih Bozkurt, who was killed by militant fire during a cave clearing operation in May 2022. Ankara maintains several bases in the region as part of its long-running campaign against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party. Authorities said initial findings indicate the gas accumulated naturally in the sealed cave. Rescue and remediation work is being carried out by Turkish military and disaster-response teams. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and senior officials offered condolences while urging the public to rely on official information.