Turkish Airlines was continuing its evacuation operations at the country’s main airports, Baghdad, Basra, Irbil, Najaf and Suleimaniye.

Some 113 Turkish workers who were in the Iraqi city of Najaf returned to Turkey on June 14, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has stated.

The Foreign Ministry’s Iraq Crisis Desk stated that the workers returned to Turkey in a private aircraft rented by the company that they were working for.

There has been no improvement in security conditions in Iraq and clashes are spreading rapidly, the statement added, reiterating that earlier security and travel warnings were still valid.

The estimated number of Turks in Iraq, outside of the northern Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) region is between 7,000 to 10,000.