Merve Aydogan
27 July 2022•Update: 28 July 2022
ANKARA
Türkiye on Wednesday condemned an attack on its Consulate General in Mosul, Iraq that took place earlier in the day.
"We condemn this attack, in which no casualties were reported, in the strongest terms and expect those responsible to be brought to justice as soon as possible," said the Turkish Foreign Ministry in a statement.
Calling on Iraqi authorities to fulfill their responsibilities to protect diplomatic and consular missions, Ankara called it "a grave and noteworthy development that this attack was carried out during a UN Security Council meeting held at the request of Iraqi authorities and at a time when our country was unfairly accused and targeted."
"On this occasion, we once again reiterate our call to Iraqi authorities to focus on the fight against terrorism and to put an end to the terrorist presence on their territory which poses a threat to neighboring countries and diplomatic missions," it added, referring to the terrorist PKK.
The Turkish National Defense Ministry also condemned the attack.
On Twitter, the ministry said the attack once again showed that civilians are being targeted and that "the terrorists who are responsible for the attack will be held accountable like other terrorists sooner or later."
The ministry also voiced its readiness to cooperate with Iraq on counter-terrorism and border security.
The city of Mosul, formerly an Ottoman territory, has a large ethnic Turkmen population.
The UN Security Council meeting concerns a fatal attack last week in Duhok, northern Iraq that Türkiye says is the work of the terrorist group PKK, which often hides out in northern Iraq, across the border, to plot attacks.
Last year alone, scores of civilians and security forces lost their lives or were injured in terrorist attacks carried out by the PKK in Iraq.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
