Turkey stops further deployment to Mosul after reaction from Iraq

Turkey stopped sending 350 soldiers to Mosul in northern Iraq after reaction from Baghdad over Turkish deployment of additional military forces for training purposes, local media said on Monday.

The 350 troops were told to wait on the border with Iraq untill the two capitals reach consensus for deployment, NTV news broadcaster reported.

On Saturday, Iraq summoned the Turkish ambassador to demand an immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from Mosul, which is controlled by the Islamic State (IS).

A small number of Turkish trainers were already at a camp in Iraq before the latest deployment on Thursday to train a force of mainly Sunni Arab volunteers against IS militants.

After Thursday's deployment, Turkey has a total of 600 troops in Iraq.

The Iraqi government on Saturday demanded the withdrawal of the Turkish troops, saying they were there without permission of the Iraqi side.

"A battalion of tanks and artillery entered the Iraqi territory, specifically in Nineveh province, under the pretext of training Iraqi groups, without the request or authorization from the Iraqi federal authorities," Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office said in a statement.

Al-Abadi threatened to appeal to the United Nations to force Turkey to withdraw its troops.

Late Sunday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu sent a letter to al-Abadi, promising not to "deploy more troops to Bashika until your concerns about the matter are eased."

Davutoglu said that Turkey is committed to the integrity and sovereignty of Iraq and that "Turkey will not take a step against this principle."

"We want to further and deepen our coordination with the Iraqi government in the fight against terror," he said.

Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, has been under IS control since June 2014. Endit