Turkish officer arrested over 'punishment' blast deaths

A Turkish army lieutenant has been arrested for causing the deaths of four conscripts by making one of them hold a hand grenade as punishment for sleeping on duty, it was reported today.

Taraf newspaper in Turkey reported that the lieutenant removed the pin from the grenade. The paper said the soldier begged the lieutenant to return the pin and that the grenade exploded when the soldier could no longer hold it. The incident happened on August 17.

Officials had said at the time that the soldiers died when a hand grenade went off accidentally.

Dogan news agency said the lieutenant was arrested following an investigation. The military did not comment on the reports.