Turkish soldiers injured in fresh ISIS attack

“It appears that it’s very much aligned with something we’ve been urging for quite some time, which is greater involvement in the campaign to combat ISIL by Sunni Arab countries”, Carter said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

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

“We offer condolences to our Iraqi martyr brothers’ families and the Iraqi people, and wish the injured a speedy recovery”, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Abadi said Iraqi forces were “on the verge of breaking the back” of Islamic State.

This month, the United States announced plans to deploy elite American military teams to Iraq to conduct raids against Islamic State there and in neighboring Syria.

Victory in Ramadi – just 80 miles west of Baghdad – would allow Iraqi security forces to refocus on the northern city of Mosul, considered the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Iraq and the prize in the U.S.-backed campaign there. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules.

According to CNN-Turk television, IS militants fired up to 60 mortar rounds over several hours.

One of the Turkish troops was seriously wounded but his life is not in danger, it added.

Meanwhile, six Peshmerga soldiers were killed and seven wounded in a separate ISIS suicide bombing at a military base near Kaske, west of Mosul, Peshmerga sources said.

IS used mortars, rockets, and vehicle bombs ahead of ground attacks during the assault, which was ultimately foiled, Kurdish officials said. Turkey had stationed trainers at Bashiqa since previous year to help train the Kurdish and Sunni forces, but the arrival of the additional troops earlier this month sparked uproar in Baghdad, which demanded their immediate withdrawal.

The attack on December 16 “shows once again the importance of security measures for the contingent” in Bashiqa, the Turkish Army said.

The attack comes days after Turkey was forced to remove reinforcements it had sent to the camp by Baghdad, reported ABC News.

Biden stressed that the recent deployment of Turkish forces in Iraq was done without consent of the Iraqi government. The Iraqi government says they are not welcome and must withdraw.