Islamic State militants attacked a training camp in Bashiqa in Northern Iraq Wednesday, killing three Iraqi Sunni fighters and wounding 10 others, officials said.
The incident began at around 3:10 p.m. local time when ISIS members began firing mortar rounds at the camp during a battle with Kudish peshmerga fighters, reported The Hurriyet Daily News. Turkish artillery units stationed at the camp returned fire, leading to a several hour conflict. During the exchange, ISIS reportedly fired up to 60 mortar rounds.
"The fire was responded to with return fire in kind on targets" belonging to IS, the army said. "This attack shows once again the importance of security measures for the contingent" in Bashiqa, it added.
When the smoke cleared, three people died and 10 people were injured. Four of the people injured were Turkish military instructors who were at the base to help train Iraqi anti-jihadist fighters, according to AFP.
"Four Turkish troops were wounded in a mortar attack against the military training camp near Mosul," the official said. "All four servicemen have since been evacuated and are currently undergoing medical treatment. We are pleased to confirm that their condition is stable."
The attack comes days after Turkey was forced to remove reinforcements it had sent to the camp by Baghdad, reported ABC News. At the time, Turkey said the troops were meant to guard an international mission training and equipping Iraqi forces, but local government saw the move as Turkey attempting to establish a greater foothold in the region and even went as far as to lodge a formal complaint at the U.N. Security Council, asking it to order Turkey to withdraw its troops from the area immediately.
