Turkey to withdraw troops from Iraq

“In recognition of the Iraqi concerns and in accordance with the requirements of the fight against ISIS [Daesh], is continuing to move military forces from Nineveh province”, the Turkish Foreign Ministry stated.

Baghdad also called on the Security Council to adopt a resolution, urging Turkey to end its “illegal incursion” and immediately withdraw all of its troops from the Iraqi soil.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Saturday acknowledged a “miscommunication” with Iraq over its recent deployment of troops to the Bashiqa military base, near the Islamic State-held city of Mosul.

Without the knowledge of Baghdad, the forces of Turkey entered the territory of Iraq, said the Iraq’s foreign minister.

Turkey began partially withdrawing troops from the area on Monday.

Turkey will continue to coordinate with the Iraqi government its military contributions to the fight against the IS.

The United States has significantly ratcheted up pressure on the Turkish government to withdraw recently dispatched troops out of Iraq, with US President Barack Obama reaching out to his Turkish counterpart to resolve a row that has developed between the two US allies.

Jaafari spoke at the UN Security Council about the Turkish troop deployment in Iraq and urged members of the council to condemn the move as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty. Several thousand Iraqis, mostly Shiites, protested in Baghdad and Basra holding up banners reading “Death to Turkey” and “Death to Erdogan”. The base came under fire from the Islamic State on Wednesday, when militants fired rockets as they launched a wave of attacks against Kurdish forces.