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Turkish troops still in Bashiqa Camp of N. Iraq providing training: Turkish minister

Xinhua, December 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Turkish troops in Iraq training Sunni groups in Mosul are still in Bashiqa camp in northern Iraq, Turkish Defense Minister Yilmaz said on Friday.

"Our troops, which provide training, are still there. Reorganizing of other troops that provide guard is continuing," Yilmaz told reporters.

Earlier on Dec. 19, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Turkey will continue to move some of its troops out of Nineveh province in northern Iraq where the camp is based, after the tension with the Iraqi government.

Turkey has acknowledged a "miscommunication" with Iraq over its recent deployment of troops to the Bashiqa military base in northern Iraq, said a statement.

Washington has also put pressure on Ankara, including a phone call from U.S. President Barack Obama to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Dec. 18.

Obama urged Erdogan to take additional steps to deescalate tensions with Iraq, including continuing to withdraw Turkish military forces and respecting Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to the White House.

Ankara deployed hundreds of troops to Bashiqa in early December, saying the force was part of an international mission to train and equip Iraqi forces to fight the Islamic State (IS). Baghdad, however, slammed the move, saying it had never invited such a force.

A convoy of nearly 10 vehicles left the Bashiqa Camp on Dec. 7 for another region in northern Iraq after Iraq's strong reaction to the deployment of the Turkish troops to the camp. Ankara said the troops were aimed at training Sunni forces in their combat against IS militants. Endit