Turkey Announces Troop Withdrawal from Iraq

He also stated that the Turkish troops would stay on in Iraq until Mosul had been freed from Daesh occupation. Turkey responded by accusing Iraq of sabotaging the fight against Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS/ISIL).

The ministry said Turkey would continue to move some of its troops out of Nineveh province, where the camp is based.

Turkish regime announced on Saturday that it will continue pulling its forces out of Iraq, while Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari called for a Security Council (UNSC) resolution denouncing the Turkish violation of Iraqi territories.

The two leaders discussed the recent developments between Turkey and Iraq as they spoke over the phone late Friday, Turkish presidential sources said.

“We will carry on our process with the (UN) Security Council until a full withdrawal is achieved”, he added.

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.

However, Iraqi authorities regard the move a flagrant breach of the country’s sovereignty and have repeatedly called on Ankara to withdraw its forces. Baghdad has criticized the deployment, and demanded that Turkey pull out the troops. Ankara has argued that the troops have been been training Iraqi volunteers in their fight against Daesh. Mr Obama had asked Mr Erdogan to take steps “to deescalate tensions with Iraq”. For Turkish President Erdogan to violate the sovereignty of Iraq, especially with tensions rising between Ankara and Moscow, and with rumors that Turkey is helping to fund the Islamic State by buying its oil, he risks inflaming an already volatile situation.

“From the outset, we tried to resolve this matter through bilateral channels”.