A Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in crossfire between Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces and the Daesh terrorist group in Northern Iraq.
The incident occurred on Saturday at around 15:10 local time, reported the Turkish military on its website.
Katyusha rockets fired from the Daesh side dropped on Gedu military base in the Bashiqa region – where Turkish troops were deployed – killing one soldier and injuring another. The wounded soldier was immediately dispatched to Şırnak State Hospital in southeastern Turkey.
"Due to projectiles that fell on the base, our hero comrade has been martyred and one hero comrade was slightly injured," the army's statement said.
Following the incident, the army covered Daesh targets with fire, the statement further said.
In a separate statement the army said that following the incident, four Daesh targets in the region were struck by U.S.-led coalition warplanes, and an additional four Daesh targets were hit by the Turkish airforce, according to a news report published by private Turkish broadcaster NTV.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu confirmed the Turkish warplanes targeted the Daesh position in Iraq in line with engagement rules in the aftermath of the incident.
"At the end of the assessment, we made with the General Staff chief, all positions that caused the martyrdom of our lieutenant were destroyed with the intervention of our air forces," Davutoğlu told journalists at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul ahead of his departure for a two-day visit in Jordan.
Davutoğlu said another air campaign was carried out with the participation of coalition warplanes, adding that Turkey had revealed its strong will and power in the wake of any attack that targeted its military presence abroad.
In his remarks, the prime minister defended Turkey's presence in Iraq, which he called "support for Iraqi brothers", and said this presence aimed at meeting the security needs of the Iraqi government.
