A state funeral was held in Ankara early Friday for the 20 Turkish soldiers killed in the C-130 military cargo aircraft crash near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border following forensic procedures and their transfer to Ankara.
The aircraft had taken off from Azerbaijan and was returning to Türkiye when it crashed shortly after entering Georgian airspace on Tuesday, killing all 20 personnel on board.
Following the incident, the remains were brought to the Ankara Forensic Medicine Institute on Wednesday.
Friday’s ceremony included a moment of silence, a recitation from the Holy Quran and prayers for the fallen soldiers.
Authorities said three soldiers will be buried in Ankara following the ceremony, while the remaining 17 will be sent to their hometowns across Türkiye, including Istanbul, Ankara, Konya, Sakarya, Balıkesir, Niğde and Eskişehir, for burial with full military honors.
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Chief of General Staff Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, Navy Commander Adm. Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, Ankara Governor Vasip Şahin, and other senior military officials attended the funeral ceremony.
Military officials, political leaders and several states across the world, such as Qatar, Azerbaijan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Italy, Romania, Kosovo, Pakistan and most recently Greece, as well as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, offered their condolences, expressing solidarity with Ankara following the tragic loss.
The military has temporarily grounded its 18 remaining C-130 military cargo planes as a precaution pending technical inspections.
C-130 planes are widely used by Türkiye's armed forces for transporting personnel and handling logistical operations.
Türkiye immediately dispatched an accident investigation team to determine the cause of the crash. The plane's flight data recorder and cockpit voice data recorder were under examination in Ankara, the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said there was no ammunition on board the aircraft when it crashed.
