Turkey to stop deploying troops to Iraq
The Turkish troops have been deployed to train Iraqi Kurdish forces. (Photo: AFP)
(VOVworld) – Turkey announced Sunday that it will stop further deployment of troops to the Bashiqa area near Mosul, Iraq, which is currently under IS control. The announcement followed Iraq’s threat to appeal to the UN to force Turkey to withdraw its soldiers. In a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said no further forces will be deployed to Bashiqa until the concerns of the Iraqi government are allayed. Davutoglu added that Turkey is ready to expand its cooperation with Iraq in coordination and consultation but will not withdraw troops from Iraq as Abadi requested.