Miscommunication responsible for Iraq troops row – Turkey

Turkey says it will withdraw more troops from northern Iraq and acknowledged there has been a miscommunication with the Iraqi government over the issue.

Turkey has stationed troops there since a year ago but had recently sent more with the stated aim of protecting its forces from IS attacks.

On Saturday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that Ankara will continue to recall some of the troops from the Bashiqa military base in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province.

Baghdad had complained about the December 4 deployment of troops to the site near Mosul, calling it a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and insisting the Turkish forces be withdrawn.

On Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the presence of Turkish forces in Bashiqa does not pose a threat to the territorial integrity of Iraq but represents a strong entity against terrorism.

A senior Turkish official said last week that between 150 and 300 soldiers and 20 tanks were deployed to protect Turkish military trainers at the Bashiqa camp near Mosul.

Baghdad considers the Turkish troops an illegal incursion and has demanded their immediate withdrawal at a U.N. Security Council meeting.

Turkey’s statement comes a day after U.S. President Barack Obama urged Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call to “de-escalate tensions” with Iraq by continuing to withdraw Turkish forces.

But the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government recently asked Turkey to withdraw those troops after regional tensions between pro-Sunni Turkey and Shiite Iran worsened.