Rockets fired at Turkish Bashiqa base twice in under 24 hours

“Following the attack on the Turkish military base in Nineveh province, the Turkish army responded by bombarding the source from where the rockets were fired.”
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar visits Turkish troops at the border with Iraq in Hakkari province, June 19, 2020. (Photo: AP)
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar visits Turkish troops at the border with Iraq in Hakkari province, June 19, 2020. (Photo: AP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Three rockets hit the Zelkan Turkish military base in Iraq’s Nineveh province on Saturday night.

A security source from Nineveh province announced that the Zelkan Turkish military base in Bashiqa was targeted again with three rockets for the second time in less than 24 hours. 

Read More: Armed group target Turkish base in Iraq's disputed Bashiqa

"Following the attack on the Turkish military base in Nineveh province, the Turkish army responded by bombarding the source from where the rockets were fired," the Kurdistan Region Directorate General of Counter-Terrorism (CTD) stated on its Facebook page. "The attack caused no casualties among the Turkish army soldiers."

Two rockets were fired at the base earlier the same day. 

"Turkish Zelkan military base in Bashika town got attacked by two Katyusha rockets," the Kurdistan Region Directorate General of Counter-Terrorism (CTD) said. "No casualties reported." 

Bashiqa is a town situated at the heart of the Nineveh plain, between Mosul city and the Sheikhan district on the edges of Mount Maqlub. 

In 2015, Turkey established the base to train Sunni Arab and Kurdish Peshmerga forces in preparations for the battle to liberate Mosul from ISIS.

In October 2016, Turkey declared it would keep its troops in Iraq until ISIS was expelled from Mosul despite calls from other nations to withdraw its forces.

The Iraqi government previously protested Ankara's refusal to withdraw its forces after the defeat of ISIS in Mosul.

Also, Iran-aligned armed groups affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have been accused of attacking the Turkish base.

Read More: Rocket attack targets Turkish base in Iraq's disputed Bashiqa

Qais al-Khazali, the founder and leader of the Iranian-backed Shia armed group Asaib Ahl al-Haq, has previously complained about the Turkish military presence in Bashiqa.