Turkish military refutes reports that coup plotters escaped to Kandil in northern Iraq

ANKARA

The Turkish General Staff has refuted reports suggesting a group of coup plotting soldiers crossed into northern Iraq and escaped to the Kandil Mountains, known as the headquarters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), after the failed coup attempt of July 15, which was blamed on the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

“Reports suggesting that three coup plotter generals and 57 soldiers landed in Silopi [in southeastern Şırnak province] by helicopter and crossed into northern Iraq from the Habur [Border Gate], and escaped to Kandil do not reflect the truth. Likewise, the control in Silopi on the morning of July 16, 2016, was completely under the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and such helicopter activity had definitely not happened,” the General Staff said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş announced on Aug. 8 that the information suggesting the fugitive soldiers were in the hands of another organization in northern Iraq had never been confirmed by official sources.