Mosul, Sep 5 (IANS/EFE) Five civilians were killed and eight injured when warplanes missed their target Friday in an attempted strike on the Turkish consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul used as headquarters by Islamic State (IS) militants, local sources said.
Iraqi warplanes carried out the attack on the consulate headquarters but the bombs or missiles missed and hit nearby homes, killing five civilians and injuring eight others.
A health worker at the hospital where the injured were taken said there were women and children among the casualties.
The Iraqi Air Force resumed raids on IS positions after a 10-day lull.
Earlier this week, US planes dropped thousands of leaflets on Mosul, urging residents to keep clear of positions occupied by the IS which overran the city in June.
The leaflets were signed by the Iraqi defence ministry and warned that IS-occupied areas may be targeted in bombing raids. Mosul residents were likewise advised to evacuate homes located near potential targets.
Following its seizure of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, IS moved to control vast areas of Iraq’s northern regions, uprooting tens of thousands of people, including members of several religious minorities.
IS leaders then proclaimed an “Islamic caliphate” in the areas the militants control in Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
–IANS/EFE
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