Turkey- Erdogan: Turkish army has been in Mosul for 18 months

12/11/2015 12:20:00 PM

(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkish troops have been in Mosul for 18 months at the request of the Iraqi prime minister.

Erdogan’s remarks came during a press conference at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul before an official visit to Turkmenistan.

Speaking to reporters Erdogan said: “As you know there are many steps taken by many countries on Iraq; there are operations carried out. And we do not resemble any of those countries. We are a very different country.

“Because Iraq is a place where terrorist organizations are running wild especially Daesh …. these terrorist organizations are a threat element for Turkey.”

Erdogan added: “If the Iraqi central government does not take the necessary measures against possible threats to Turkey we have to do it ourselves.”

The Turkish leader also said Ankara had deployed training soldiers to northern Iraq at the end of 2014 at request of the Iraqi prime minister.

On Thursday a Turkish delegation headed by Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu and the head of the National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan visited Baghdad.

Approximately 150 Turkish soldiers were deployed near Mosul on Dec. 4 to replace training forces already in the area. In addition 20-25 tanks were also sent to the region.

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