Turkey convenes emergency NATO meeting about Iraq

The Anatolia news agency reported that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone conversation with U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden regarding developments in Mosul and speculation over a Turkish military intervention in coordination with allies. Subsequently NATO ambassadors held an emergency meeting at Turkey’s request to discuss the situation in Iraq and ISIL terrorist abduction of 80 Turkish citizens.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that elements of the organization “Daash” stormed the headquarters of the Turkish consulate in Mosul and transferred 49 Consul and staff to another location, while 31 others— truck drivers who were abducted on Tuesday — were being held hostage at a power station in Mosul.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Federica Mony asked the international community to support Iraq against the threat of terrorism because of the fall of Nineveh province in the hands of the militants of the so-called State of Iraq and the Islamic Levant.