Turkey reopens Mosul consulate years after IS insurgency forced closure

Turkey has reopened its consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul after years of closure due to the Islamic State group's insurgency in the region.

Consul General Kucuksakalli celebrated the reopening of his country’s consulate in a Tweet on Thursday, saying “the separation is over”.

“We came to Mosul (which) coincides with the blessed days at the end of this holy month, and we are currently making final preparations for the opening of the Turkish Consulate General in Mosul”, Kucuksakalli wrote in Arabic on Twitter, in reference to Ramadan.

IS militants occupied the Turkish consulate in Mosul in June 2014 after taking over the city. The group held 49 consulate personnel and their families captive, including the then-consul general Ozturk Yilmaz. The hostages were released 101 days later.

In comments made to Turkey's Anadolu Agency, Kucuksakalli said IS was one of the biggest challenges but was eventually defeated, with “major contributions and sacrifices from Turkey, Iraq and the international coalition.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced in late 2020 plans to reopen the consulate in Iraq’s southern Basra city, as well as in the cities of Najaf and Kirkuk for the first time, according to Turkish media.

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