Twelve Turkish soldiers have died after inhaling methane gas during a mission in northern Iraq, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence says. Four other comrades affected by methane gas have died, bringing the total number of victims to 12, the ministry said.
I want to firstly send my best wishes to the Irish Defence Forces personnel affected in today's incident. While I am very pleased to report that all personnel are safe and well, the fact they came under fire while on patrol is deeply worrying.
It is outrageous that only three months after an Army Black Hawk helicopter tragically collided with a passenger jet, the same Army brigade again flew a helicopter too close to passenger jets on final approach.
The incident occurred while a crew was involved in moving the aircraft, and the Navy confirmed one sailor bailed out moments before the jet fell.