8 rockets hit vicinity of Turkish military base in Iraq

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Several rockets landed on Sunday in the vicinity of an Iraqi military camp that the Turkish forces are using as a military base.

An explosion was heard in Nineveh and eastern Mosul, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported. Meanwhile, an Iraqi source said the Turkish forces were targeted with eight rockets in the Zelican military base in east Mosul.

The Turkish forces in Iraq have been using the Zelican training camp in northern Iraq as a military base, and the attack comes at a time when the Turkish forces are clashing with Kurdish militias in both northern Iraq and northern Syria.

The sources did not reveal who was behind the attack and no certain party has come out and claimed responsibility for the incident.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced last month that Turkey had launched the "Operation Claw-Sword" offensive with airstrikes targeting Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria.

It is noteworthy that the US Department of Defense had expressed concern over the recent uptick in military activity in northern Syria, Iraq, and Turkey, citing the danger they pose to efforts to defeat ISIS.

In the same context, Russia has asked Turkey to refrain from a full-scale ground offensive in Syria, senior Russian negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev said earlier, because such actions could trigger an escalation of violence.

It is noteworthy that Iran's Ambassador to Baghdad, Muhammad Kazem Al-e Sadeq, said that "the commander of the Quds Force visited Iraq and met the three presidents," noting that "Iran has agreed with the central government and the authorities of the Kurdistan region to deploy Iraqi forces at the borders of Kurdistan."

Subsequently, the Iraqi government decided to draw up a plan to redeploy Iraqi forces along the borders with Iran and Turkey, which it said was "a plan to redeploy the Iraqi border forces to hold the zero line along the borders with the two countries."

The Iraqi government decided to plan the redeployment of forces along the borders with Iran and Turkey as part of a series of decisions taken by Baghdad after two countries recently carried attacks on the locations of armed groups within Iraqi soil. 

The statement indicated that Iraq will pursue "coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Ministry of Peshmerga, to unify the national effort to protect the Iraqi borders, in addition to providing the border forces with all the logistical support needed, enhancing human resources, and providing the necessary funds," to help the forces perform their duties.

The statement also touched on the importance of utilizing the human resources available for the Ministry of Interior to strengthen the border outposts.