 Turkey: 25 soldiers hurt after artillery 'accident' Diyarbakir, Turkey (AFP) Nov 9, 2018 - At least 25 Turkish soldiers were injured and seven were reported missing Friday after an artillery shell exploded "accidentally" at a military base in the country's southeast, authorities said. Turkey's defence ministry said the explosion occurred "while firing heavy weapon ammunition" at the base in Sungu Tepe in the Hakkari province near Turkey's borders with Iraq and Iran. Twenty-five soldiers were hospitalised, but officials did not give details on the severity of their injuries. Seven soldiers were missing, the ministry said. The government has launched an investigation. The provincial government of Hakkari said in a statement that "defective" ammunition exploded during artillery fire. It was not clear whether this 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.
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Seven Turkish soldiers were killed in an "accidental" explosion at an army munitions depot, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.
The defence ministry said the accident occurred when a heavy artillery shell exploded at a base at Sungu Tepe in southeastern Turkey near the borders with Iraq and Iran on Friday.
"We have seven martyrs in the munitions depot explosion... and also we have 25 wounded," Erdogan told a press conference.
He said investigations were under way to find out exactly what happened. Both Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and armed forces chief Yasar Gulu went to the remote depot located in the mountains.
Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast has seen years of fighting between the 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.
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