Iraq tribal leader: strike kills 19 pro-government fighters

Turkey-Iraq relations became strained after Ankara sent troops late a year ago to the region of Bashiqa, northeast of Mosul and close to Turkey’s border, to train anti-ISIL fighters there.

Ankara and Baghdad are in row of words over Turkish troops deployed in Bashiqa region of northern Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi later told reporters the presence of Turkish troops “is one of the challenges” ahead of the Mosul operation, warning that Ankara’s insistence could lead to a “regional warfare”.

Canadian Brigadier General D.J. Anderson said the coalition was investigating the incident. If Iraqi and allied Kurdish forces set up centers to screen people who leave Mosul, only Iraqi Security Forces or Kurdistan Regional Government forces should operate them, not abusive armed forces.

Tensions between Iraq and Turkey have soared in recent days as Iraqi government forces and allied volunteer fighters are preparing for a large military offensive to cleanse Mosul of ISIS terrorists.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said on Wednesday that Turkey is ready to cooperate with Iraq’s central government in Bashiqa camp if it focuses on keeping the country’s territorial integrity and defeating terror groups including Daesh. The statement was echoed by US Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who said that Turkey “should concentrate” on targeting Islamic State militants.

When coalition training shifted from counterinsurgency to a combined arms maneuver approach, the Iraqis learned how to integrate infantry, armor, artillery, engineers, aviation and other combat multipliers to achieve an overwhelming advantage on the battlefield, he said.

“The Turkish military presence on Iraqi territory isn’t there with official Iraqi permission and is illegal”, Turkish media quoted him as saying.

“We are aware of the reports that Sunni tribal fighters were in the building that was struck, and we are taking those reports seriously”, OIR said in a statement announcing a joint investigation with Iraqi security forces.

The assault to retake Mosul, which has been in the hands of IS since 2014, is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

“Our aim is to prevent more human tragedy and more bloodshed [in the region]”, Yildirim told a news conference in the capital Ankara.

According to Turkey’s daily Hurriyet newspaper, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “warned of possible “sectarian” results arising from the Mosul operation”.

The White House in September approved an additional 615-troop deployment into Iraq to support the Mosul operation.

“After Mosul will be rescued from ISIS only Sunni Arabs, Turkmen and Sunni Kurds should remain there”, he said.