Turkey’s main opposition leader vows to shed light on 2016 ISIS executions

The leader of Turkey’s main opposition Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on Monday vowed to shed light on the execution of  two Turkish soldiers by the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2016 should his party come to power in the next elections, T24 news site reported.

The leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) made the remarks during a visit to the family of Fethi Şahin, who along with another soldier, is believed to have been burned to death by ISIS in Syria’s al-Bab region.

The incident, which become public in December 2016 only after ISIS released a video showing soldiers donning Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) uniforms - identified as Şahin and Sefter Taş - being burned to death, remains shrouded in mystery, with Şahin’s family saying they were given no information on the brutally murdered soldier by authorities.

“A military should protect its soldiers, it is the military’s basic duty. When the parliament reconvenes, we will bring this issue to the parliament’s agenda,’’ Kılıçdaroğlu told Taş’s family in central Konya province.

“And God willing if we assume the rulership (in the upcoming elections), we will bring out to light all of the details of this incident and we will inform the families,” the CHP leader said.

The Turkish military in November 2016 had said that it had lost contact with two soldiers in a statement that coincided with a report by ISIS-linked news agency Amaq that the group had kidnapped two Turkish soldiers.

In December 2016, Turkey briefly blocked access to Twitter, YouTube and Facebook after ISIS released the 19-minute gruesome video, which showed two uniformed men being hauled from a cage before being bound and torched.

The video’s release arrived a day after 16 Turkish soldiers were killed by ISIS fighters during an military offensive into Syria.