Turkey and Iraq have recalled each others ambassadors and Iraq’s prime minister warned of a “regional war” as tensions rose over a vote by the Turkish parliament to continue stationing troops near Mosul. Haider al-Abadi said on Wednesday that Turkey ran the risk of escalating violence in the region if it did not withdraw its troops from their base in Bashika, northern Iraq,
where they have been stationed since late last year in what Turkey claims is a training detail for Iraqi soldiers. Turkey cites the invitation of Massoud Barzani, the president of the autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), to justify the presence of its troops in the country’s Kurdish-run north. Turkey and the KRG are allies, but Baghdad is opposed to the presence of Turkish forces. READ MORE
