Iraqi Shia militias: 'We send back dead bodies of Turkish soldiers'

ERBIL, Kurdistan (Kurdistan24) – The Iraqi Shia militias threaten Turkish forces deployed near Mosul, vow to deport them dead or alive.

Al-Badr Organization block in the Iraqi parliament vows that if Turkey does not withdraw its troops inside Iraq, their corpses will be sent back to Turkey.

In a statement, al-Badr Organization, which is the strongest military faction in the Hashd al-Shaabi Shia militia, stated on Wednesday that “We advise the Turkish President that if he does not retreat Turkish troops alive, we will send them back to him dead.”

Al-Badr Organization that has close ties with Iranian authorities gave Turkish forces a deadline to withdraw the troops before the Mosul operation begins, or the statement mentions, “We will teach them how to withdraw.”

As the Mosul liberation operation to retake the city from the Islamic State (IS) approaches, challenges arise before the operation, including the presence of Turkish troops in Bashiq, northern Mosul and the participation of the Shia militias in the operation.

Previously, Jawad al-Tilbawi, a Hashd al-Shaabi official told Iraqi local media outlets that “The Turkish troops in northern Mosul will be a legitimate target of the joint Iraqi security forces,” adding that “We will deal with Turkish troops in the same way we are treating Daesh [an Arabic pejorative name for IS].”

Mosul is the second largest Iraqi province in terms of population and area that hosts Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, Muslims, Christians and Ezidis. IS extremists took control of the city in June 2014 following the retreat of the Iraqi army.

Editing by Ava Homa