ANKARA
Turkey's foreign minister has voiced concerns over the attacks on Iraqi Turkmens in the Turkmen-majority city of Tal Afar as unrest is growing high in Iraq since militants led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have extended their reach across Iraq since June 10.
Turkey has begun sending humanitarian to Iraq's violence-hit cities, particularly Turkmen-populated areas, Ahmet Davutoglu told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Iraqi forces backed by Turkmen vigilante groups reportedly regained control in some areas of Tal Afar following violent fighting with ISIL- led forces, according to a Turkmen tribal leader.
"We are following the situation in Iraq closely and holding talks with Iraqi Turkmen Front Leader Ershad Salihi, Kurdish officials in Erbil and the Baghdad government," he said.
Davutoglu stated that Turkey's official disaster authority AFAD began sending humanitarian aid, tents, food and medical supplies to the displaced in Iraq.
He added that he would leave for Jeddah on Wednesday to attend the foreign ministers summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the crisis in Iraq with his counterparts.
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