Fighters Killed, Turkish Trainers Wounded in Attack

“Four Turkish troops were wounded in a mortar attack against the military training camp near Mosul”, an unnamed Turkish official said.

Kurdish official Hemin Hawrami said on Twitter that Kurdish peshmerga forces had repelled multiple attacks on Wednesday by the militants, who deployed nine vehicle bombs and eight suicide attacks. Seven Peshmerga were killed, he said.

Turkey’s military said Turkish artillery units fired back at IS targets.

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The attack took place during a multi-pronged IS operation aimed at breaking through Iraqi Kurdish lines in several areas around Mosul, the jihadists’ main hub in Iraq.

More than 1,000 fighters were receiving training at the camp when it came under attack.

Demanding that Ankara withdraw its troops within 48 hours, the Iraqi government urged North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to get involved, saying that it was the alliance’s responsibility to “use its authority to urge Turkey to withdraw immediately”.

“Now more than ever, it will be important for Iraq and Turkey to accelerate their efforts to de-escalate tensions, ensure dialogue remains constructive, reaffirm support for Iraqi security and sovereignty, and strengthen their cooperation against ISIL”, Kahl said.

He also welcomed Saudi Arabia’s announcement of a new 34-nation Islamic military alliance to fight terrorism. Iraq Foreign Ministry summoned Ambassador of Turkey to Iraq and demanded that Turkey must immediately take out its forces from the northern regions of the country. Thousands of Shiite militiamen and supporters have joined rallies demanding Turkey’s full withdrawal, chanting, “No to occupation”.

US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter reached the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Wednesday for talks with US military commanders and discuss ways to escalate the war on the Islamic organization state.

Biden stressed that the recent deployment of Turkish forces in Iraq was done without consent of the Iraqi government. Citing threats from IS, Turkey recently sent an unspecified number of reinforcements to the camp, sparking an uproar in Baghdad.

Turkey has stationed trainers since past year at the camp in Bashiqa, where Kurdish and Sunni forces are being trained to fight IS.

“We need to examine how a member of the US-led coalition – the Republic of Turkey – performs goals set by the coalition”, Lavrov said.