One sign of this was the June 20 bomb attack which took place in the Kirkuk district of Tazehurmatu, in which 80 people lost their lives. It is currently harvest season in the Kirkuk region, and the suicide attack took place with a bomb-laden truck, the explosives hidden under wheat. Around 200 people were also injured in this attack. Another attack on July 9 in the Mosul town of Telafer is a sign of the continuing pressures and scare tactics being shown to the Turkmen residents of this region. In short, more than 125 people have been killed and nearly 300 injured in attacks which have occurred over the past 17 days in the northern Iraqi locations of Tazehurmatu, Mosul and Telafer. In fact, every single one of the victims killed in these three incidents was Shiite and Turkmen.Ankara was quick to highlight and relay to the Baghdad central government its sensitivities regarding the Tazehurmatu attack in the hours after the incident took place. Immediately following the attack, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a press statement condemning the attack and noting that Turkey was prepared to help treat as many of the injured as possible in Turkey, and that all the necessary moves on this front had been made, including the dispatch of a special ambulance airplane to Kirkuk.
In coordination with the Turkish Foreign Ministry's press statement, the Foreign Ministry, the Prime Ministerial Emergency Management General Directorate, the Turkish military's General Staff headquarters, the Health Ministry, the Interior Affairs Ministry, and the Turkish Red Crescent Association all began preparations for transferring the wounded from northern Iraq to Turkey. A C-130 military airplane belonging to the Turkish Air Force was sent on June 22 to Kirkuk. A full 12 tons of assistance in the form of items such as tents, blankets, kitchen sets and staple foods was also sent to Kirkuk on June 22 on an airplane supplied by the General Staff headquarters in Turkey.
In addition, the Turkish Embassy, as well as the Turkish Consulate in Mosul is in close contact with local authorities in Iraq following the situations of those wounded in the northern Iraq attacks. Three hundred boxes of food supplies on hand at the Turkish Consulate in Mosul were distributed through the Kirkuk governor's office and the consulate on June 21 to those in need in the region. The first step of medical assistance offered by Turkey to those wounded in the northern Iraq attacks involved the transfer of 11 injured people to Ankara, where the Health Ministry is now overseeing their treatment and recovery.
Aside from the recent Tazehurmatu massacre that took place, Turkey has also overseen the treatment in Turkish hospitals of many other innocent Iraqis hurt in attacks in other place throughout Iraq. These offers of help have been without regard to any ethnic or sectarian differences among the wounded. The result of these efforts has been that many, many Iraqis have now been treated in Turkish hospitals. The list is long, but after the May 21 suicide attack in Kirkuk, the March 23 suicide attack in Telafer, the Jan. 2 suicide attack in the Baghdad town of Yusufiye, the Dec. 11, 2008 suicide attack in Kirkuk, the Dec. 2, 2008 suicide attack in Telafer, the Nov. 15, 2008 suicide attack in Telafer, the Nov. 6, 2008 suicide attack in Mosul, the Oct. 28, 2008 suicide attack in Tikrit and the Sept. 6, 2008 suicide attack in Telafer, the wounded from these many attacks were brought to Turkey, along with their carers, for treatment.
Turkey, which, after all, lived under the same state roof as Iraq during the Ottoman Empire, has not only religious, but also ethnic and historical ties with that country. For this reason, it is very important for Turkey to see that Iraq remains unified, free from terror and lack of stability, that prosperity grows for the Iraqi people and that equal treatment is given to all of Iraq's various ethnic and sectarian groups. Turkey's efforts for Iraq, which have thus far prompted great feelings of gratitude amongst the Iraqi people, should be an example for everyone.
