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The convoy, which was organised by the Turkish Red Crescent, was delivering aid to the Turkomen community of Tal Afar, which had been the centre of repeated strikes by US-led forces against Iraqi militants. Ankara had protested against the attacks, claiming that they were harming Turkomen civilians.
Ihlas News Agency (IHA) correspondent Feyzullah Tas, IHA cameraman Selcuk Bilirdonmez, and Red Crescent workers Halil Altunkalem and Mustafa Pekcan were wounded when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle. Pekcan was reportedly in a serious condition in a Mosul hospital.
In a statement issued following the attack, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the necessary initiatives had been undertaken to capture those responsible the attack.
“Such an attack on a humanitarian aid team aiming to assist neighbouring country’s people increased seriousness of the situation in Iraq,” the statement read. “According to universal rules, nobody should intervene in a humanitarian aid team on any condition.”
“Turkey has launched necessary initiatives with relevant Iraqi authorities to find those who are responsible for this heinous attack and to prevent re-occurrence of such events in the future.” | |
