A group of rockets targeted a Turkish military base in northern Iraq on Wednesday, officials in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq said. An Iranian-backed militia quickly claimed responsibility for the attack.
A Turkish Defense Ministry official said there was no damage or injuries at the base, but did not provide further details. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with regulations.
According to a statement from the anti-terrorism department of the Iraqi Kurdish region, at least eight rockets were fired at the Zilkan Turkish military base in northern Iraq’s Nineveh province, with two hitting the base itself.
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Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar dismissed the incident, saying the base is attacked “from time to time”, prompting retaliation. He said that the Turkish soldiers were “fighting there with greater resolve and determination.”
Turkey has long carried out military operations in northern Iraq, with both ground and air forces, to fight the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has been waging a decades-long insurgency against Ankara.
A Turkish base in northern Iraq came under attack when eight rockets were fired on Wednesday.
The PKK maintains sanctuaries in the Kurdish region of Iraq and Turkish forces have frequently launched airstrikes against the PKK.
Separate from its operations against the PKK, Turkey was also part of the war against the Islamic State group, which seized control of much of the area in 2014, and an ally in the US-led campaign against Islamic State.
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Turkey has also established several bases in the area, much to the chagrin of Baghdad officials and some in the regional Iraqi Kurdish government, which has not officially condemned the presence of Turkish troops. On occasion, the facilities have been subjected to rocket attacks.
Turkey established the Zilkan base in 2015, during the war against IS. It is located near the Iraqi city of Mosul, at the time a stronghold of extremists.
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The Iraqi government has frequently condemned Turkey’s military presence, often describing it as illegal.
Shortly after Wednesday’s attack, the Ahrar al-Iraq Islamic Resistance Brigade, which is part of Iraq’s Iranian-backed umbrella group of pro-government Shiite militias called the Popular Mobilization Forces, said it was behind the rocket fire.
