Iraq says Turkey must pull out all its troops after partial withdrawal

Carter said he would also be speaking to USA commanders during his visit to Baghdad to get a reading on the battlefield and “their thinking about ways that we can continue to accelerate the campaign to defeat ISIL”.

For President Barack Obama, reluctant to commit large numbers of US ground troops to the Middle East, the preferred strategy for battling Islamic State has been to identify and assist local forces willing to fight the group.

This month, the United States announced plans to deploy an elite force to Iraq to conduct raids against Islamic State there and in neighbouring Syria.

The Turkish soldiers were slightly injured in the attack before they responded with howitzer fire, Turkey’s general staff said in a statement, highlighting the importance of the security at the base.

State TV quoted an unnamed military official as saying that troops and pro-government militiamen captured the Nouba mountain in Latakia province early Wednesday.

A statement, issued by the office of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, said Abadi and Carter “discussed the war on terrorist Daaesh (IS group) gangs and the latest victories achieved on the enemy, in addition to tackling means to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the areas of arming and training”.

But he said the USA was ready to provide such support if the Iraqis asked. That request had not been made before Carter’s arrival.

Some coalition partners have expressed a willingness to send more planes to Incirlik before the end of January, the senior USA defense official said. Powerful Iranian-backed Shi’ite militia groups who are aligned with the Shi’ite Abadi’s government against Islamic State also oppose a greater US presence.

The flare-up between Iraq and Turkey has hardened into an unwelcome distraction for the USA, which is working to persuade Turkey to step up its fight against IS while escalating its own military efforts against the extremist group.

In Syria, the United States has focused on reducing Islamic State revenues, particularly from oil fields in the east.

Details of the plan have not been disclosed, and US officials haven’t said when they may deploy to Iraq.

The attack on the base where the troops are stationed was part of a broader offensive Islamic State is waging against Kurdish positions north of the city of Mosul, Kurdish military sources told Reuters.

“I wouldn’t read anything into us moving these out of there as any sort of less combat capability…to be able to strike in Syria”, Davis said.