Iraq Threatens Military Action If Turkey Doesn’t Withdraw Troops

Says Turkey Not Respecting Pullout Agreement

In conversation with Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu today, Iraqi PM Hayder Abadi warned that he believes Turkey is failing to respect an agreement to withdraw unauthorized troops from northern Iraq, demanding an immediate an unconditional pullout.

Failing that, Abadi warned, Iraq would have no choice but to consider “military action” against the Turkish troops in an effort to defend its sovereignty.

Turkey originally sent around 150 troops into Nineveh Province in what they’ve described as a training operation, but it’s unclear at this point how many troops even remain, as some were withdrawn when their base was attacked by ISIS.

It seems unlikely that Iraq would actually attempt military action, even against a small number of Turkish troops, since Turkey is a NATO member nation. With Iraq haven’t virtually no presence of its own in Nineveh, they likely also don’t have a convenient opportunity to do so at any rate.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.