Turkey will reopen its consulates in Iraq’s Basra and Mosul provinces, which were closed after an invasion of the Iraqi cities by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists in 2014, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Monday, according to the Hürriyet Daily News.
“We are reopening the consulates in Mosul and Basra in line with our aim to respond to the needs of all parts of Iraq. We are also working on opening consulates in Najaf and Kirkuk,” the minister said, speaking during budget discussions in parliament.
Turkey had closed its Mosul and Basra consulates due to threats posed by the ISIL terrorist group. The Turkish Consulate General in Mosul was taken over by ISIL on June 11, 2014, holding captive 49 consulate personnel and their families.
The hostages were safely returned to Turkey after 101 days of captivity.