Turkey to halt troop deployment to Iraq, not to withdraw

Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç said on Tuesday that deployment of new soldiers to Mosul's Bashiqa region has stopped.

"The presence of Turkish soldiers in Mosul is not new and there is no withdrawal for now, " the spokesman added during a press conference held in Ankara.

Bilgiç said that Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu reiterated Ankara's respect for Iraq's territorial integrity in response to Baghdad's demand for the withdrawal of Turkish troops deployed to a base 12 kilometers northeast of the center of Mosul.

Turkish troops reached Mosul's Bashiqa in routine training exercises on December 5 as a part of the fight against Daesh.

"Routine rotation activities are carried out to protect the region," Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said in his previous statement.

However, the Iraqi government reacted to Turkey strongly over the deployment of Turkish troops in Mosul.

A total of 350 troops who were on their way to Bashiqa were made to wait for the reaction of the Iraqi government and the official response.