Remains of 17 French soldiers who died in First World War battle laid to rest

French army officers place the remains of 17 French soldiers alongside their fallen comrades in a Turkish cemetery (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

The remains of 17 missing French soldiers who fought in the Battle of Gallipoli in the First World War have been handed over to French military officials and put to rest alongside other fallen comrades more than a century after their deaths.

The remains were found during restoration work on a castle and surrounding areas on Turkey’s north-western Canakkale peninsula, where Allied forces fought against Ottoman Turks in the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign that started with landings on April 25 1915.