“Islamic State” (the organization prohibited in the Russian Federation) fired missiles at a base in Northern Iraq where Turkish troops are stationed, according to Reuters who quoted a Kurdish military source and Turkish officials.
As a result of attack, four Turkish soldiers were lightly wounded and were sent to a hospital in Turkey. The armed forces of Turkey reported that ISIL launched missiles that were aimed at the Peshmerga — the Kurdish militias, hitting the Turkish base.
The Kurdish official representative Hemin Hawrami said on his Twitter that the Peshmerga repelled a number of ISIL attacks in the vicinity. According to him, in particular, eight attacks from suicide bombers were carried out by “Islamic State”. Seven Kurdish militiamen were killed.
Meanwhile, the Kurdish General, who was near the base at the time of the attack, said that he was in the Turkish military base when six or seven missiles were used, in particular, of the Iraqi military. The White House stated that they were aware of the attack on the base. The President of the United States stressed that he condemned the attacks and urged Iraq and Turkey to reach an agreement on the issue on Iraqi territory by the Turkish military.
In early December, Turkey sent troops to the ISIL-held city of Mosul in Northern Iraq. It was reported to be about 150 troops and 20-25 tanks. In Ankara, the deployment of troops was explained as the training of the Kurdish militias. Iraq demanded, on December 12th, that Turkey withdraw its military, threatening to turn to the UN Security Council.
The foreign Minister of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said that the negative reaction of Iraq to the Turkish troops was orchestrated by “other countries”, but he did not specify the States involved.
In particular, Russia stands against the presence of Turkish troops in Iraq. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, on December 12th discussed with his Iraqi counterpart the situation with the Turkish troops. Lavrov expressed his “firm principle” support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq, and that “the Iraqi authorities have behaved in this regard in accordance with International Law and the UN Charter”.
On December 14th, Reuters, with reference to a Turkish military source, said that Turkish troops had left the camp near Basici — a town near Mosul. According to the interlocutor of Agency, Turkish troops began moving North. The source said that the withdrawal of Turkish troops from camps in Northern Iraq is linked with the agreements of Ankara and Baghdad.