Turkish soldier killed by ISIL rocket in northern Iraq

One Turkish soldier was killed on March 26 when a rocket projectile fired from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) region hit the Bashiqa camp near Mosul in northern Iraq, marking the first such Turkish casualty in the camp.

A Katyusha projectile fired from the ISIL area landed in the Bashiqa camp at around 3.10 p.m. during clashes between ISIL militants and Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces near the Gedu military base located in northern Iraq. 

First lieutenant ?smail Cazg?r was killed while another soldier was wounded in the attack. The wounded soldier was taken in a helicopter to the ??rnak State Hospital for treatment.

Turkish army shelled ISIL positions after the attack which was followed by an air campaign in cooperation with the anti-ISIL coalition forces.

"Four targets belonging to the Daesh [ISIL] terror organization in the region was hit by coalition forces warplanes. Right after, four additional targets spotted in the region were intensely covered with fire by Turkish Air Forces warplanes and the targets were destroyed," the Turkish General Staff said in a statement.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu said the response demonstrated Turkey's "resolution, strong will and power against attacks targeting its military presence abroad." 

He also vowed that Turkish military presence in the camp would continue as long as elements threatening Turkey continue to exist north of Mosul-Aleppo line.

The Bashiqa Camp became a source of tension between Ankara and Baghdad last year when Turkish troops were deployed to the region to train an Iraqi militia to fight ISIL.  

Following strong reactions both from the United States and Iran, Turkey was forced to pull out a significant number of its...