Turkiye said on Monday that three more of its soldiers had died after being exposed to methane gas during a search operation in caves in northern Iraq, bringing the total toll to eight.

The incident comes at a sensitive time with Turkiye in talks to end the conflict with the Kurds after the PKK militant group agreed to end its decades-long armed struggle.

The conflict, which began in 1984, has cost more than 40,000 lives.

The deaths occurred as the Turkish troops were searching for the remains of a soldier who was shot dead by Kurdish fighters in the area in May 2022 and whose body was never recovered, Turkiye’s defence ministry said.

“Three other of our heroic comrades in arms, affected by methane gas, have died, bringing the total number of victims to eight,” the ministry said on X on Monday.

It did not explain the origin of the methane gas in the caves.

“During a search operation in a cave… previously known to have been used as a hospital… 19 of our personnel were exposed to methane gas,” the ministry said on Sunday.

When the soldier whose body the troops were looking for died in 2022, Turkiye was waging Operation Claw Lock, with its troops seeking to eradicate Kurdish PKK militants holed up in caves along the border.

News of the deaths emerged as a delegation from the pro-Kurdish DEM party was visiting jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan as part of the ongoing negotiations with the Turkish government.