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Turkish president vows to join Mosul operation

Xinhua, October 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday reiterated his country's resolve to join the operation launched earlier in the day to reclaim the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS).

"Turkey has a 350-km long border line with Iraq and is under constant threat," Erdogan said in a televised speech at an international law conference in Istanbul.

Despite Baghad's strong opposition, the Turkish leader vowed that Ankara "will involve in the operation and also we will be at the table" in the aftermath of the offensive.

"It is not possible for Turkey to stay out of it," he said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed not to allow Ankara to participate in the offensive to liberate Mosul "under any circumstances."

Tensions have been growing over the presence of Turkish troops at the Bashiqa camp near Mosul, the second largest city of Iraq that fell to IS control in June 2014.

Early Monday, Al-Abadi declared the start of the long-awaited campaign, backed by by a U.S.-led coalition.

The campaign is the biggest in Iraq since the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2011. Endit