The deepening row between Turkey and Iraq took a further turn as Baghdad requested an emergency session of the UN Security Council to review what it considers the illegal presence of Turkish troops at the Bashiqa camp near Mosul, while a top Turkish official claimed the soldiers were there at the request of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Speaking at a public ceremony, Turkish government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus said, “With regard to Bashiqa, it is clear from the very beginning that the [President Massoud] Barzani administration wanted the support of Turkish forces to train local forces to liberate Mosul. We will not allow this to be a matter of debate.”
