Four soldiers die in vehicle accident, another killed in Iraq

TUNCELI

A ceremony was held in Elazığ for 4 soldiers who were martyred when their armored vehicle overturned while on duty in Ovacık district of Tunceli. After the ceremony, the bodies of the martyrs wrapped in Turkish flags were carried on the shoulders of their fellow soldiers and sent off to their hometowns by airplanes.

Four Turkish soldiers were killed on Sept. 8 when their armored gendarmerie vehicle went out of control and plunged off a cliff in eastern Türkiye.

The accident occurred between Tunceli's Ovacık and Hozat districts.

The deceased have been identified as specialist sergeants Ömer Eroğlu, Mehmet Aykanat, Orhan Burak Büyükçaylı and specialist corporal Doğan Kızılateş.

Petty officer sergeant Muhammet Koyuncu was injured in the accident.

A funeral ceremony was conducted at the gendarmerie command in Tunceli to honor the late soldiers.

In a separate incident, the Defense Ministry reported that infantry first lieutenant Ömer Fatih Ayar died after being wounded in an engagement with members of a "separatist terrorist organization" in northern Iraq's Gara region.

"We wish God's mercy to our beloved martyr... and extend our condolences and patience to his grieving family, the Turkish Armed Forces and our noble nation," read a statement issued by the ministry on Sept. 9.