Turkish deployment in Mosul for training purposes, KRG says

KRG spokesperson Safeen Dizayee said on Saturday that the latest Turkish military deployment to the Bashiqa area in Nineveh is an "expert and equipment reinforcement" to a training base there.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24, Agencies) - In a statement online the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) spokesperson Safeen Dizayee said on Saturday that the latest Turkish military deployment to the Bashiqa area in Nineveh Province is an "expert and equipment reinforcement" to a training base there.

The short statement released on the KRG website noted that Turkey opened a base in Bashiqa last year as an effort to help train "other Iraqi forces."

The words hinted at Sunni fighters who may spearhead a long-anticipated assault on the city of Mosul that has been under the control of the Islamic State group since last year. It said the latest Turkish reinforcement aims to expand the base.

KRG spokesperson Safeen Dizayee also said in the press release that there are two other Turkish bases set up last year for the training of Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Soran and Qalacholan areas respectively in Erbil and Slemani Provinces.

Kurdish Peshmerga Major Bahram Doski based in the Dijla frontline, in Eastern Mosul, confirmed Friday the arrival of the Turkish forces to K24 over the phone.

Iraqi President Fouad Massoum on Saturday called the deployment of the several hundred Turkish troops inside Iraq "a violation of international norms and law". In an online statement, Massoum called on Turkey to withdraw the troops and asked Iraq's Foreign Ministry to take the necessary measures "to preserve the country's sovereignty and independence".