Daesh rocket fire kills Turkish soldier in northern Iraq
One Turkish soldier has been killed and another injured when rockets fired by Daesh militants hit an area in northern Iraq, the Turkish army says.
The attack was carried out on Saturday striking Gedu military base area, where Turkish soldiers are stationed, during clashes between Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Daesh terrorists.
The army noted that its forces responded to the rocket attack that intended to target Kurdish troops and that the wounded soldier was transferred to a hospital in the Turkish border city of Sirnak.
Turkey maintains a military presence in the Bashiqa area of northern Iraq despite strong opposition from the central government in Baghdad.
On December 4, 2015, Turkey deployed some 150 soldiers, equipped with heavy weapons and backed by 20 to 25 tanks, to the outskirts of Mosul, the Daesh-held capital of Iraq’s Nineveh Province. Baghdad condemned the deployment, describing the uncoordinated act a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari even said his country had submitted a formal complaint to the UN Security Council (UNSC) regarding Turkey’s military moves in northern Iraq.
Turkey, however, alleges that its troops are engaged in training Kurdish forces fighting Daesh terrorists, a claim that Baghdad denies, saying Ankara is trying to increase its influence in the north of the Arab country under the pretext of training.
The Iraqi government has called on the international community to provide it with more arms and training to fight Daesh, but Baghdad rejects direct intervention by other countries.
Ankara is under fire over allegations of actively training and arming Takfiri elements and buying smuggled oil from territories held by Daesh in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
Late last year, Russia released satellite images, showing long lines of trucks carrying oil from Daesh-controlled areas in northeastern Syria into Turkey.
Turkey has been among the major supporters of the Takfiri terrorists fighting to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since 2011.
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