Iraqi insurgency

A volley of rockets exploded near the US embassy in Baghdad Sunday, as tensions mount ahead of the anniversary of the US killing top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on Iraqi soil.

AFP reporters in the capital's east heard at least five booms on Sunday night, followed by whistling sounds.

Turkey deported 12 terrorists from Finland back to their country of origin, the Interior Ministry said on May 31.

In a statement, the ministry said the fighters were sent back as part of Ankara's ramped-up efforts to expel foreign terrorists.

Turkey continues to send back foreign terrorist fighters, it added.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamic State (IS) said the coronavirus pandemic was divine punishment for its enemies, according to an audio broadcast on Thursday, where the jihadists also vowed more attacks.

The person on the tape, which was posted on one of the militants' websites but could not be verified by Reuters, identified himself as IS spokesman Abu Hamzah al-Quraishi.

At least four children in northern Iraq were injured in a mortar attack on March 17, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The attack was carried out by the ISIL according to Mustafa Hassan, the police chief in Tuz Khurmatu district.

A German and North Macedonian terrorist were deported to their countries, the Turkish Interior Ministry said on March 10.

The ministry said, without naming a terrorist group, that Turkey would continue returning foreign terrorists to their home countries.

At least four foreign nationals have been detained in northwestern Sakarya province over their suspected links to the ISIL terrorist group, state-run Anadolu Agency said on March 2.

The local prosecutors investing the ISIL's terrorist activities requested the arrest of four Iraqi nationals over their suspected links to the ISIL, the agency cited anonymous sources as saying.

Police detained 13 suspects, including 10 foreign nationals, over suspected links to the ISIL terror group in Istanbul, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Feb. 25.

Police raided seven different locations and detained 13 suspects, including nine Syrians and an Iraqi national, according to sources cited by Anadolu Agency.

Turkish police have detained a suspected former executioner for the ISIL in Syria, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Feb. 17.

The United States supports Turkey's "legitimate interests" in Syria's last rebel bastion of Idlib, and its presence in the province, James Jeffrey, the U.S. special envoy for Syria engagement and fight against ISIL, has said.

In an interview with private broadcaster NTV, Jeffrey said that the U.S. supports Turkey's interests in Idlib.

"We support Turkey's presence," he added.

Turkey on Feb. 12 deported a terrorist to their home country of Germany, the Interior Ministry said.

It did not specify which terror group the fighter belonged to, but in recent months ISIL terrorists are being returned to their home countries.