Turkish diplomat survives attack in Iraq
Probe launched after roadside bomb hits convoy of consul general in Mosul, damaging vehicles but causing no casualties.
A roadside bomb has struck the convoy of Turkey’s consul general in Mosul in northern Iraq.
The explosion caused damage to all four vehicles in the convoy on Monday. No casualties were reported.
“The foreign minister has spoken to the consul general who is in good health,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
“We are still investigating as to who carried out the attack and whether the consul general had been the target.”
Iraqi security forces examined the scene of the incident and launched an inquiry to find the perpetrators of the attack.
The latest attack is not the first suffered by Turkey’s diplomatic mission in Iraq.
At least one mortar round struck the outer compound wall of the Turkish embassy in Baghdad last year.
Relations between mainly Sunni Turkey and the Shia-led Iraqi government have been tense in recent years, primarily because of Turkey’s ever close relations with the self-governing Iraqi Kurds in the north of the country for their energy reserves.
Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister,and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his Turkish counterpart, have accused each other for provoking sectarian tensions.
The two countries have also previously summoned each others’ ambassadors, although Iraq is still one of the Turkey’s biggest trading partners.