Turkey urges Iraq to find attackers of aid workers

A Kizilay convoy delivering aid in Tal Afar was attacked by unidentified gunmen on Monday as they were heading to a vehicle belonging to Kizilay and wounded in the attack, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.

The statement said Turkey was in touch with Iraqi authorities to ensure that the attackers be found and to prevent the recurrence of any such incidents. Diplomatic sources said Ankara, closely following developments, was in contact in Iraq with U.S. and Iraqi authorities to ensure the safety and good treatment of the wounded workers and journalists.

The wounded aid workers and journalists were taken to a hospital in Mosul and one Kizilay worker, Mustafa Pekcan, was in a critical condition, Foreign Ministry officials said. Others were suffering from slight injuries.

The two journalists from the Turkish Ihlas news agency (IHA) were covering the activities of Kizilay. It was not known who was responsible for the attack.

"The fact the attack targeted a humanitarian aid team who went to Iraq to help people there and whom, under any universal norm, should never be harmed, adds to the gravity of the situation," the Ministry statement said.

Turkey sent aid last week to Tal Afar, a town populated by Turkmens, following a near-two-week siege by U.S.-led forces. The 12-day U.S. assault which the U.S. military said was targeting foreign insurgents has caused tension between Washington and Ankara, with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warning that Turkey could stop cooperating with Washington in Iraq if the operation was not stopped.

Turkish officials said the team had travelled together with a military escort provided by U.S. forces on the way from the border to Tal Afar in line with a request from Ankara to that effect. But there was no request for an escort when they wanted to travel to Mosul for a visit to the Iraqi Red Crescent.

Separately, Iraqi police said the body of a Turkish man was found in al-Sharqat province, 270 kilometres from Baghdad, but gave no information as to his identity. An Iraqi police official said the man had been shot, adding that he was from the southern province of Mardin.