Turkey ready to help rebuild Mosul

Turkey is ready to help rebuild the war-torn city of Mosul in Iraq, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told his Iraqi counterpart yesterday.

According to a source from the Turkish government who spoke to the Anadolu Agency, the Turkish premier congratulated the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi on the victory of Iraqi forces in driving out Daesh from the city of Mosul.

He then announced Tukey is ready to contribute towards the reconstruction of the city, as well as emphasising that Ankara is determined to maintain cooperation and relations with the Iraqi government.

Mosul, a city that was once the second largest in Iraq, has suffered enormous damages during its occupation by Daesh since 2014 and throughout the subsequent campaign by Iraqi and allied forces to liberate it, including airstrikes by the US and other Western countries such as France. Mosul’s Old City was left especially affected.

Read: Iraqi Prime Minister congratulates armed forces for Mosul ‘victory’

The Turkish offer comes a week after the Iraqi government formally declared victory over Daesh in Mosul, which was the group’s base and last major stronghold in the country.

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Turkish-Iraqi relations have been troubled in recent years, particularly due to Turkey’s refusal of Iraqi government demands to withdraw its troops from its Bashiqa army base in northern Ir