US says Turkey must pull unauthorized forces from Iraq

In the United States, an unnamed official linked to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s office condemned the attack on Turkish troops, calling on the Iraqi and Turkish governments to de-escalate tensions over the presence of Ankara’s forces in the north of the country.

Those concerns could affect whether or not Iraqi leaders agree to allow the U.S.to send Apache attack helicopters and more troops into the fight.

Biden’s warning to Turkey came in a White House statement describing a phone call between Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (HY’-dahr ahl ah-BAH’-dee).

The US Government has called upon Turkey to withdraw unauthorised military forces from Iraq.

During his visit to Incirlik, Carter said he is looking for ways to do more to hasten the defeat of the Islamic State group.

It was one of the largest attacks of its kind since Islamic State arrived in Iraq previous year, they said.

Many sceptics will want to see the recapture of Ramadi and then a clear plan to retake Mosul – Iraq’s second biggest city – before being confident the Iraqis are genuinely willing to win back their country.

“But there are lots of other things as well, and again, we’re not the only ones who provide that equipment”.

The gear will be enough for about 2,200 fighters, they said.

That reluctance also could hold up any move to embed US military advisers with Iraqi Brigade headquarters. Carter said he was discussing with other coalition officials how to do so.

Carter and his delegation also met USA partners in the global anti-IS coalition.

Odom estimated that at least 180 Islamic State fighters were killed in action.

The US recently announced its decision to deploy a specialised expeditionary targeting force to combat ISIS in Iraq.

Capture of the sprawling western Ramadi district of al-Taamim and the Anbar Operations Command headquarters could advance government efforts to fully retake Ramadi, which fell to Islamic State in May.

Ramadi is defended by Islamic State fighters numbering only in the hundreds and is now nearly entirely ringed by Iraqi forces.

“We need to examine how a member of the US-led coalition – the Republic of Turkey – performs goals set by the coalition”, Lavrov said. “Why is it not bombing terrorists as such, but the Kurds instead?”.

Carter’s trip had been planned for some time, but on Monday during a Pentagon visit, President Barack Obama vowed to accelerate the campaign against IS, lending more urgency to the visit.