On Friday, various media reports said that about 130 Turkish military personnel had been deployed to the Mosul area in Iraq allegedly to provide training to Kurdish Peshmerga militia fighting against Daesh (also known as ISIL or the Islamic State terrorist group).
The Iraqi ministry described the deployment of Turkish forces in Iraq without the permission of Baghdad as a "hostile act."
Earlier in the day, Baghdad has called on Ankara to "immediately" withdraw its forces, including tanks and artillery, which it has deployed in the country's northern Ninawa province, without Baghdad's consent, according to a statement from the press service of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi obtained by RIA Novosti.
Moreover, Iraqi authorities called on Turkey to "respect good neighborly relations" and "immediately withdraw its military from the territory of Iraq."
