Carter: Kurdish Peshmerga Forces Vital to Speed ISIL’s Defeat

The United States is accusing Turkey of sending reinforcements to a training camp in Iraq without permission from Iraq’s government. Abadi has demanded that Turkish troops immediately withdraw from Iraq’s territory.

ANKARA/ERBIL, Iraq Islamic State militants fired rockets at a base in northern Iraq where Turkish troops are stationed on Wednesday, as they launched a wave of attacks against Kurdish forces, officials said. President Barack Obama’s recent decision to dispatch about 50 USA special forces to Iraq met a lukewarm reaction in Baghdad, even though the US insisted it coordinated all its military actions with Iraq’s government.

The U.S. defense secretary flew to Erbil from Baghdad earlier in the day, after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi rejected an American offer to send more front-line combat advisors and Apache attack helicopters to assist in the retaking of Ramadi, which fell to ISIS in May.

The attack appeared to have been meant to show that the group is still a potent fighting force despite setbacks in Sinjar, Iraq, and in northern Syria.

The attack came days after Turkey, under intense pressure from Baghdad, was forced to pull out an unspecified number of reinforcements it had sent to the camp, citing threats from ISIL.

“Now more than ever, it will be important for Iraq and Turkey to accelerate their efforts to de-escalate tensions, ensure dialogue remains constructive, reaffirm support for Iraqi security and sovereignty, and strengthen their cooperation against (Islamic State)”, Vice President Joe Biden’s office said in a statement.

The Turkish military responded to the attack on the camp – used to train Iraqi anti-jihadist fighters with Turkish help – with fire of their own, the CNN-Turk and NTV channels reported, citing military sources.

USA officials said military leaders in both countries had deemed such steps unnecessary for now as Iraqi forces make some headway in Ramadi.

But aircraft from the anti-IS coalition will likely be making increased use of the Incirlik air base in southeastern Turkey in coming months, said Laura Seal, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

USA aircraft carry out daily air strikes against ISIL targets, majority in the Iraqi part of the jihadists’ self-proclaimed “caliphate”, which also covers regions in Syria.

USA military officials have said in the past that Islamic State was unable to mount large-scale attacks, such as the one it pressed on Wednesday.