Turkey condemns bomb attacks in Nigeria and Iraq

By Ahmet Sait Akcay and Zehra Ulucak

ANKARA

Turkey strongly condemned terror attacks in Nigeria and Iraq, which killed at least 50 and 21 people respectively on Tuesday.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said: “We are saddened by the suicide attack perpetrated today at a mosque in Mubi in northeastern Nigeria’s Adamawa state.”

“We strongly condemn this terrorist attack, wish Allah’s mercy upon those who lost their lives and a speedy recovery to the wounded and convey our condolences to the Government and people of Nigeria,” the statement read.

On Tuesday morning, at least 50 people were killed and several dozens injured in a suicide attack at a mosque in northeastern Nigeria.

Despite the government's claim of having defeated the group, Boko Haram continues its deadly attacks on soft targets, mostly using suicide bombers in isolated areas of the region.

The Turkish ministry also condemned the Iraqi car bomb attack, which killed at least 21 people in the Turkmen-majority Tuz Khurmatu district in Iraq’s Saladin province north of Baghdad on Tuesday.

“We strongly condemn this terrorist attack which targets social peace in Iraq. We convey our deepest condolences to the friendly and brotherly people of Iraq, wish Allah’s mercy upon those who lost their lives and speedy recovery to the wounded,” the statement read.

“We have learned with sorrow that many Iraqis were killed and wounded in a terrorist attack perpetrated [Tuesday] in Tuz Khurmatu district which is [...] populated by our Turkmen brothers and sisters,” it said.

It also added that Turkey would remain committed to fully support the government of Iraq and the Iraqi people in their fight against terrorism.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, the Iraqi authorities typically blame such attacks on the Daesh terrorist group, which has recently suffered a string of defeats -- both in Iraq and in neighboring Syria.

In mid-October, Iraqi forces seized control of Tuz Khurmatu following the withdrawal of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters from the majority-Turkmen district.