TODAYSZAMAN.COM WITH WIRES/ ISTANBUL report,

A convoy of the Turkish consul general was hit by a remote controlled bomb in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul late on Saturday in the second such incident targeting Consul General Öztürk Yılmaz since he took office last July. No causalities were reported.

The diplomatic convoy of four vehicles was attacked on its way to the northern Iraqi city of Arbil when a remote controlled bomb detonated as the cars passed by the eastern city of Mosul. The bomb caused considerable material damage to one of the vehicles in the convoy but no one was killed or injured in the attack. Consul General Öztürk and his aides are reportedly
in good condition. The Turkish diplomat continued to make his way to Arbil under heavy security measures.

The Iraqi authorities are reportedly investigating the attack. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack and no one has claimed responsibility.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry noted that there have been four attacks against the Turkish Consulate in Mosul in the last two years. It also underlined that its embassy in Baghdad and its Basra consulate were recently the target of attacks, expressing concern that the perpetrators of the attacks have not yet been identified.

The Foreign Ministry said Turkey expects the Iraqi authorities to shed light on the incident by conducting a thorough investigation as soon as possible and taking all measures to ensure the security of diplomatic missions in the country.

A bomb attack hit Öztürk’s convoy early September 2013 which also left no causalities. In December 2004, an attack on a Turkish diplomatic convoy also in Mosul killed five Turkish security guards.

Car bomb at liquor store in northern Iraq kills 12

Another car bomb exploded outside a liquor store in northern Iraq overnight, killing at least 12 civilians, a senior police officer said Sunday.

The blast struck the northern oil-rich and ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk, deputy police chief Maj. Gen. Torhan Abdul-Rahman Youssef said. Youssef said the blast in the western al-Wasiti neighborhood wounded 29.

Kirkuk is located 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad. Militants often target night clubs, liquor stores and brothels. They want to impose a strict interpretation of Islam in Iraq.

The attack comes as Iraq’s Shiite-led government is struggling to contain a surge in sectarian violence unseen since the country was pushed to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007 after the US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. According to the United Nations, 8,868 people were killed in Iraq last year.