Turkish forces killed some 18 ISIL members in attack to Bashiqa camp

Sevil Erku?sevil.erkus@hurriyet.com.trTurkish forces have killed 18 members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) after jihadists tried to sneak into a training camp in the Bashiqa region of northern Iraq late on Jan. 7, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an confirmed on Jan. 8. 

"Militants, reportedly of Daesh [were behind the attack]; I believe some 18 were neutralized," Erdo?an said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL while preferring the word "neutralized" which may be employed to mean either killed or apprehended. 

"There are no wounded friends; we have no such knowledge at the moment," Erdo?an added, referring to reports of Turkish soldiers being wounded in the attack. 

Turkish sources previously told the Hürriyet Daily News that 17 ISIL members were killed in the third ISIL attack against the camp since Turkey deployed additional forces in Bashiqa.

Five Turkish soldiers sustained injuries on Dec. 27, 2015, in the second attack on the camp.

The first attack on the military camp, which is relatively close to ISIL-held Mosul, occurred on Dec. 16, 2015, when ISIL militants fired Katyusha projectiles at the camp.

Turkey deployed around 150 troops to the Bashiqa area earlier this month with the stated aim of training an Iraqi militia to fight ISIL. 

The Turkish soldiers' presence in Iraq recently turned into a row between the two neighboring countries when an additional deployment of Turkish troops to the camp kicked off an angry exchange between the two capitals. 

Turkey said on Dec. 14, 2015, that some of its troops had begun leaving as part of reorganization, but Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's spokesman said more soldiers would have to be removed before Iraq was satisfied...