Turkish officials on Wednesday condemned the attack on the country’s consulate in Iraq’s Mosul that came about a week after Ankara has been blamed for an attack in Duhok province that killed nine civilians.
Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop said, "I strongly condemn the heinous attack on our Mosul Consulate. We expect the Iraqi authorities to immediately find those responsible for this provocative attack and to be held accountable."
Ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesperson Ömer Çelik on social media said: “Terrorist groups targeting Turkey will definitely pay the price for this. The Iraqi authorities must catch these aggressors as soon as possible and bring them to justice."
“Targeting Turkey as a result of planned provocations will only benefit terrorist groups. Together with brotherly Iraq, we must increase the fight against these terrorist organizations,” he added.
“Terrorist groups that try to test Turkey's power will face a decisive and definitive answer. Our fight against terrorism has high legitimacy and a determined will,” Çelik said further.
The main opposition, Republican People's Party (CHP), also condemned the attack as the party said, "it was learned with deep sadness that a rocket attack was made near the building belonging to the Mosul Consulate General of Turkey.”
“It is our consolation that our consular staff was not harmed during the attack."
“However, we never accept and strongly condemn such an attack on our representation. The Iraqi authorities are responsible for ensuring the security of our diplomatic and consular representations in the country,” the party said.
“We think that it is also the responsibility of the Iraqi authorities to capture the perpetrators of this attack and hand them over to the judicial authorities, and we expect the said responsibility to be fulfilled as soon as possible,” the CHP added.
Rockets hit the vicinity of the Turkish consulate in Iraq's main northern city of Mosul, causing damage but no casualties, Iraqi and Turkish sources said Wednesday.
The Turkish 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 counterterrorism and border security.
Four rockets hit, causing damage to cars parked in the street near the consulate, provincial lawmaker Shirwan Dobardani told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Turkey, which denied its forces were behind last week's artillery bombardment and blamed the PKK, condemned the overnight rocket fire.
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.
"We condemn this attack, in which no casualties were reported, in the strongest terms," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.
"We firmly request from the Iraqi authorities to fulfill their responsibilities in protecting diplomatic and consular missions."
The ministry said it was a "grave and noteworthy development that this attack was carried out during the U.N. Security Council meeting, which was held upon the call of the Iraqi authorities."
"We once again reiterate our call to the Iraqi authorities to focus on the fight against terrorism and to put an end to the terrorists' presence on their territory," the ministry said.
Turkey's U.N. representative Öncü Keçeli said at the Security Council meeting that several mortar rounds had fallen close to the consulate as they talked.
Keçeli reiterated Turkey’s readiness to "take all the steps to unveil the truth" about the attack.
Recalling the Aug. 22, 2021 attack, when two Iraqi tourists were killed around the same area, Keçeli said: "Immediately after the incident, there was a campaign to blame my country for what happened. However, it was eventually revealed that the PKK terrorist organization was responsible for the attack."
He stressed that "Turkey has always maintained its strong support for Iraq's sovereignty, territorial integrity, stability and prosperity" and added that "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq is breached by terrorist organizations, not by Turkey."
The Turkish diplomat also said that the Iraqi government is not present in its northern territories, noting: "We estimate that the PKK controls an area of at least 10,000 square kilometers (3,861 square miles) in Iraq."
"And all these spots have become safe-havens for the terrorists," he added.
The Turkish official at the U.N. stressed that at least 339 attacks were conducted by the terrorist PKK against Turkey in the first six months of this year.
Meanwhile, Keçeli took the floor once again on hearing about an attack taking place against Turkey’s Consulate General in Mosul.
"These attacks are an indicator of the Iraqi authorities' inability to establish sovereignty in their own lands," Keçeli said as he urged "Iraqi authorities to refrain from discriminatory rhetoric, and to cooperate, including in the fight against terrorist organizations."
"According to the initial information received, we learned that no one was harmed in the incident in Mosul, but we hope that our diplomatic representations in Iraq will be safe, and this is important for establishing peace and better bilateral relations through diplomacy," he added.
