US official: ‘Agreement’ for Turkish role in Mosul

ANKARA, Turkey (Kurdistan24) – A US official on Friday said Turkey would play a role in the current battle to recapture the city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS).

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter met with Turkish officials on Friday including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the role of Turkey in the counter-IS campaign.

Carter told reporters after the meetings any decision to allow Turkey to participate in the Mosul offensive needed Iraqi approval, but Turkey should take part nonetheless.

“I’m pretty confident—on the basis of all the conversations we’ve had—that we’ll be able to work through those practicalities in a way that takes care of the sensitivities of all the parties,” Carter said.

The Defense Secretary was referring to recent tension between Iraqi and Turkish officials regarding Turkey’s role in Mosul, adding there was “an agreement in principle” for Turkey’s part in the offensive.

Turkey has nearly 500 troops who have been training Sunni forces in Iraq since last December.

However, Baghdad has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of the Turkish troops’ “occupation,” saying they are there without permission.

Despite Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Erdogan’s war of words, Carter stated Turkey would “appropriately have a role in the counter-[IS] campaign in both Syria and Iraq.”

Moreover, Carter urged that the focus of defeating IS was not lost amid the ongoing disputes between the two countries.

“[We want to] keep everybody focused on the object here which is to defeat [IS]…because that is a threat to all three of us,” he concluded.

Editing by Ava Homa