More than 50 Turkish soldiers hospitalized

By Aykut Karadag

ANKARA (AA) - Fifty-two soldiers in Ankara's Cankaya district were hospitalized Friday after they complained of stomachaches and nausea.

The soldiers were on duty at the General Sefik Erensu Military Post and fell ill following dinner Friday night.

They were treated and discharged, and the reason for the source of the complaints is being investigated.

The incident comes nearly a year after 1,000 soldiers fell ill and nearly 200 were hospitalized last May at the First Infantry Training Brigade Command in the Aegean province of Manisa.

A month later at the same base, 730 personnel needed medical attention after eating food, according to Akif Celalettin Simsek, Manisa’s chief public prosecutor.

More than 20 employees from a catering company were arrested for suspected mass food-poisoning at the military base.