The Iraqi government has demanded that Turkey withdraw troops it sent to an area near the northern city of Mosul.

About 150 Turkish soldiers have been deployed near in the town of Bashiqa to train Iraqi Kurdish forces, earlier reports said.

Iraq called on Turkey to respect good neighborly relations and to withdraw immediately from the Iraqi territory.

In press statements, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi said that the unauthorized presence of Turkish troops in Mosul province is a serious breach of Iraqi sovereignty.

“Around one regiment armored with tanks and artillery” has entered the northern Nineveh area, he added.

Sources: MENA