US playing dangerous game over Mosul operation

The Washington administration is playing a game to lead Turkey away from the table of the Mosul operation.

All players in the region had already been put into operation for leaving Turkey out of the anti-Daesh coalition in Mosul.

Following the successful counter Daesh operation in northern Syria, the success of Turkey's military had drawn all attention in the region.

Any land operation against Daesh in the region is likely impossible without Turkey's military, after the operation Euphrates Shield.

But the U.S. military, along with Iraq, Iran and Shia militias, attempted to stop Turkey.

Despite the Turkish military's presence in Bashiqa camp near Mosul under the legal permission of related Iraqi authority, the U.S. activated its regional players for spreading black propaganda against the Turkish army.

According to a recent media report, the U.S.-lead counter Daesh coalition spokesman Colonel John Dorrian called the Turkish military presence in Iraq “illegal".

Dozens of Turkish trainers and tanks had stationed in Bashiqa camp near the Daesh stronghold of Mosul in early 2015, to train Iraqi and Peshmerga fighters for operation to liberate the city from the terrorists.

According to official sources, Turkey's military has trained around 3,000 local volunteers so far.

Ankara has been defending the idea that Mosul should be liberated by supporting local forces and also should be given to locals, otherwise a sectarian conflict can be inevitable.

This was not the first step by the Pentagon against Turkey's anti-Daesh effort in Iraq.

It influenced the Iraqi Parliament to pass a controversial legislation to remove the Bashiqa military camp.

Despite seven Iranian military camps in Iraq, which don't have any legal permission from the Iraqi authorities, the parliament declaration against only Turkey's military presence is seen as a US/Iran motivated political decision.

Ankara summoned Iraqi ambassador in Turkey and strongly condemned the decision saying it did not reflect the opinion of the Iraqi people, which Turkey has stood by and supported for years.

Turkey's foreign ministry said Ankara has been fighting Daesh, which is a threat to its national security, and that Ankara is a member of an international coalition fighting the terror group.

Meanwhile, the Iranian government and its proxies stepped up their role in Iraq.

Iran keeps to a deafening silence on the issue, but a Tehran-influenced Shia leader attempted to spread danger, calling Shia militias to attack Turkish military.

Ayatollah Qasim al-Tai, a Shia cleric who split from the Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr and embraced the Iranian Shia concept, has given a fatwa claiming that fighting against Turkey's military in Bashiqa was a “religious duty".

Shia militia group Hashd al-Shaabi, which declared not to join the Mosul operation, also vowed to fight against the Turkish military.

Yousuf al Kilabi, a spokesman for the Hashd al-Shaabi militias, said that all forces stationed in northern Iraq are “invaders" and they will fight against these forces, including the Turkish military.

Moreover, 20 Sunni fighters who have been trained for months to take part in the Mosul offensive, were killed by U.S. airstrikes.

Sunni sources from the ground said the U.S. military planned to establish a military base near Mosul, as part of its new strategy for more bases in Kurdish populated areas in northern Iraq and Syria.

Following Turkey's harsh condemning over the incidents circling Mosul offensive, the U.S. and NATO gave new statements clarifying the situation.

The Press Desk of the U.S.-led coalition, also known as Operation Inherent Resolve (CTJF-OIR), denied colonel Dorrian's statement on Turkey's military presence in Iraq being “illegal", saying that the reporting on the issue was “errant".

It said that Turkey's forces, as a member of the international coalition and a strong NATO ally, “are in Iraq in coordination with and with the permission of the government of Iraq."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said that NATO would continue training the local forces in Iraq against Daesh, but the alliance would not join the operation directly.