Turkish Consulate in Mosul, Iraq Targeted by Mortar Fire

Six mortar rounds were fired Tuesday night at the Turkish Consulate in Mosul, in Iraq’s Nineveh province, landing nearby. There were no reported casualties and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. It comes six days after a resort in Duhok province, in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, was bombarded in a suspected Turkish artillery attack that killed nine tourists and wounded dozens of others. The Iraqi government blames Turkey for that attack, but Ankara denies responsibility. Turkish forces frequently carry out ground operations, airstrikes, and artillery bombardments in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, particularly in the Qandil Mountains, which are a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) stronghold. Turkey, the US, and the EU consider the PKK, which has fought an armed rebellion against Turkish rule for more than three decades, to be a terrorist organization.