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Seven Turkish security forces died when their plane crashed in eastern Turkey today.
The personnel died when their reconnaissance plane crashed into a mountain in the Van province, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported Thursday.
The plane was conducting a surveillance mission in the Van and Hakkari provinces, according to Anadolu. What exactly the forces were observing is not clear.
Van province borders Iran. It is predominately Kurdish with Turkish and Azerbaijani populations as well. There was an attack by the Kurdistan Workers Party there in June. Migrants from Iran often cross into Turkey in Van on their way to Europe.
There have been several deadly incidents involving refugees in Van recently. Dozens of bodies were discovered this month. Some had their belongings removed from them and others were missing limbs, according to photos seen by Al-Monitor. In late June, a boat carrying migrants sank in Lake Van, also killing dozens of people on board.
