Although Ankara justifies its military presence in the Mosul area by claiming it is a training mission against the Islamic State (IS), the rivalry over who will have a say in the destiny of the region complicates the issue.

After Turkey sent a reinforcement unit accompanied by 25 tanks to Bashiqa camp 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Mosul, the Iraqi government demanded a withdrawal in 48 hours. Turkey, in response, announced it had suspended a second reinforcement unit but wouldn’t withdraw its troops already at the camp. Despite all the efforts to ease the tension, both sides stood firm by their positions.

Head of the Turkish National Intelligence Service Hakan Fidan and the Foreign Ministry's Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu who were sent to Baghdad proposed a middle course that stipulated instead of withdrawing their troops as Baghdad wants a new formula to keep the Turkish troops. The Turkish Foreign Ministry made the following announcement about the outcome of the contacts two senior Turkish officials had with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi: “An agreement was reached to rearrange the military personnel and to set up new mechanisms in conformity with sensitivities of the Iraqi government.”

Although President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly declared that there is no question of withdrawing the troops from Iraq, diplomatic sources say the number of soldiers could be decreased without giving the impression of a withdrawal. But the Iraqi front remained inflexible. The Iraqi Prime Ministry in its statement said: “The Turkish delegation was informed that the only solution would be a total withdrawal of Turkish forces from Iraq.”