Turkish soldier dies in hospital following IED blast in Iraq

I want to share this intriguing news I’ve read today. A Turkish soldier who was badly injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) planted in northern Iraq’s Avasin region died in hospital on Friday, Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported on Saturday. Umit Solak, an infantry specialist sergeant, was deployed in northern Iraq as part of the Turkish military’s ongoing campaign against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) group. Turkey’s National Defence Ministry said that he had been evacuated to a hospital where he succumbed to his fatal injury. “We wish Allah’s mercy upon our heroic martyr, and offer our condolences and patience to his precious family, the Turkish Armed Forces and the nation,” the ministry said. Unlike landmines, IEDs can be very difficult to detect and much more complicated and risky to defuse. The PKK is known to plant such devices in the region. Mere days before Solak’s fatal injury, similar explosives believed to have been planted by the group killed two members of the local Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces and injured several others. The Kurdish news outlet Kurdistan 24 reported that the Peshmerga had discovered several IEDs they believe the PKK had planted. In April, Turkey launched its latest cross-border air and land campaign against the PKK in northern Iraq and that country’s Kurdish region codenamed operations Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt.