Baghdad Demands Turkey Withdraw Troops from N. Iraq

Local Editor

The Iraqi government demanded that Ankara withdraw the more than 100 Turkish forces that entered Iraq with tanks and artillery for alleged "training" of troops near "ISIS"-occupied Mosul. Baghdad stressed the unsanctioned move was a breach of its sovereignty.

The Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement early on Saturday that the Turkish troops were acting in violation of the country's sovereignty and demanded the forces withdraw immediately. "Around one regiment armored with tanks and artillery" has entered the northern Nineveh area, according to the statement from the Iraqi Premier's media office.

"The Iraqi authorities call on Turkey to respect good neighborly relations and to withdraw immediately from the Iraqi territory," the statement said, stressing that the Turkish troops entered "without the request or authorization from the Iraqi federal authorities," which is a "serious breach of Iraqi sovereignty."

According to media sources, the US-led anti-"ISIS" coalition was aware of the Turkey's move.

Turkish soldiers reached the Mosul Bashiqa region in which a battalion crossed into it, noting that the town is located about 10 kilometers northeast of Mosul.
However, according to two US military officials quoted, Turkey's deployment is not part of the efforts of the US-led coalition battling "ISIS."

In addition, Turkish Cumhuriyet newspaper reported that the number of the deployed Turkish troops amounts to at least 150.

Mosul, Iraq's second biggest city, was seized by "ISIS" in June 2014 and has been fully governed by militants ever since. Meanwhile, the extremist group captured large stockpiles of weapons and ammunition that were stored in the city.

Moreover, the Turkish intrusion into Iraq comes shortly after Ankara's motives in the war on "ISIS" have been questioned by Moscow, Tehran and Baghdad.

In parallel, following Turkey's downing of the Russian jet returning from an anti-terrorist mission, the Russian Defense Ministry directly tied the illegal Syrian and Iraqi oil trade, a chief lifeline for "ISIS" terrorists, to the family of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Ministry presented detailed photo and video evidence showing three huge "live pipelines" made of oil trucks effortlessly crossing the Syrian border into Turkey in militant-controlled areas.

However, the Russian government has been particularly vocal in pointing the finger at the illegal oil trade between "ISIS" terrorists and the Turks.

Relatively, Secretary of the Iranian Expediency Council, Mohsen Rezaie expressed that: "If the government of Turkey is not informed of "ISIS" oil trade in the country, we are ready to put the information at its disposal," adding that they are also ready to present the proof to the public.

As Baghdad officially is considering whether there is enough evidence of Turkey's involvement in oil trade with "ISIS" to file a formal protest at the UN Security Council, an Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that "general information about the smuggling of Iraqi oil by trucks to certain countries, including Turkey" is already available to them, and "this oil is used to fund the terrorist group."

For his part, Iraqi MP and former national security adviser Mowaffak Rubaie stated: "There is no shadow of a doubt" that Ankara knows about the oil smuggling operations."

"The merchants, the businessmen are buying oil in the black market in Turkey under the noses of the Turkish intelligence agency and the Turkish security apparatus... There are security officers who are sympathizing with "ISIS" in Turkey. They are allowing them to go from Istanbul to the borders and infiltrate ... Syria and Iraq," he explained.

"Money and dollars generated by selling Iraqi and Syrian oil on the Turkish black market is like the oxygen supply to "ISIS" and its operation," Rubaie added. "Once you cut the oxygen then "ISIS" will suffocate."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team