BAGHDAD—Iraq on Wednesday reiterated its demand that Turkish troops withdraw from a northern camp where they are training anti-Islamic State (ISIS) fighters, warning that it will consider military action if the soldiers remain.
The dispute flared up in early December after Turkey deployed reinforcements to a camp in northern Iraq’s Bashiqa region where Ankara is helping to train Sunni and Kurdish fighters to battle ISIS.
The deployment riled Baghdad, which considers the new troops an illegal incursion and has demanded their immediate and complete withdrawal. Turkey has begun withdrawing troops, but some remain.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari told a press conference Wednesday that Baghdad will continue to pursue a peaceful resolution, but warned that if “fighting is imposed on us, we will consider it to protect our sovereignty, people and resources.”
