Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu played down the military activity as “routine rotation activity” and “reinforcement against security risks”, while also labelling any misinterpretation as a “provocation”.
“We have confirmation that Turkish forces, numbering about one armoured regiment with a number of tanks and artillery, entered Iraqi territory… allegedly to train Iraqi groups, without a request or authorisation from Iraqi federal authorities,” the statement said by premier’s office.
The deployment “is considered a serious violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” it added.
Turkish media reported that around 150 Turkish soldiers backed by 20 to 25 tanks had been sent by road to the Bashiqa area northeast of Mosul, the city that is the Islamic State jihadist group’s main hub in Iraq.
Facing political pressure as a result of statements by US officials, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has taken an increasingly hard public line on foreign forces in Iraq, terming the deployment of ground combat forces a “hostile act”.
IS overran swathes of territory north and west of Baghdad last year, and Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes are battling to drive the jihadists back.
Baghdad’s relations with Turkey have improved recently but remained strained by Ankara’s relationship with Barzani and differences over the Syrian civil war.
