Taner yildiz biography of mahatma

ANKARA (AFP) - A senior Turkish Cabinet minister declared Wednesday he wished to become a "martyr" as the government fights an unprecedented offensive against Kurdish rebels, prompting astonishment and mockery on social media.

"My goal is to be martyred, if Allah desires, for my religion, my nation and my country," Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters at a conference in Ankara.

Turkey is currently waging an "anti-terror war" against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, who have hit back by killing members of the security forces on a daily basis.

Each of the slain troops is buried with full honours and described as a "martyr" ("sehit" in Turkish) for the fatherland.

Like all prominent members of the Islamic-rooted ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Yildiz is a pious Muslim.

But his comments - which he later rushed to define as theoretical - were roundly ridiculed on social media.

"Taner Yildiz went home with his million-dollar armoured car escorted by 750 bo