Turkiye and Iraq agree gradual handover of Bashiqa-Zilkan base near Mosul

Turkiye and Iraq agreed on Wednesday that Turkish forces will gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zilkan military camp near Mosul to the Iraqi government, following talks between the two countries’ leaders in New York.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly and issued a joint statement pledging deeper security cooperation. The two sides agreed to fully establish Iraqi state authority in Sinjar and to end the presence of “outlawed foreign armed elements” there, referring to Kurdish militants based in the mountainous area, Reuters reported.

The statement said Turkish forces would gradually transfer the Bashiqa-Zilkan camp “in accordance with the agreed-upon mechanism and timeline” and security measures taken by Iraq. An Iraqi military commander familiar with the talks told Reuters the phased withdrawal of Turkish troops from Bashiqa and another small base near Mosul was expected to be complete by the end of this year; Turkiye made no immediate comment on the timeline.

Ankara deployed troops near Mosul in 2015, saying they were there to train and protect Iraqi forces and local Sunni Arab, Turkmen and Kurdish fighters preparing to fight Islamic State, which seized the city in 2014. Baghdad objected to the deployment and demanded the troops’ withdrawal.

Sources

• Reuters: Turkey and Iraq agree Turkey will turn over military camp in northern Iraq — reuters.com
• Arab News: Ankara and Baghdad agree Turkiye will turn over military camp in northern Iraq — arabnews.com
• Daily Sabah: Türkiye, Iraq agree on Sinjar security, Bashiqa handover — dailysabah.com
• Rudaw: Zaidi, Erdogan agree on ‘gradual handover’ of Turkish military base near Mosul — rudaw.net