Abadi Resists US Push for Turkish Role in Mosul Battle

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has opposed the US push for the participation of Turkey in the ongoing Iraqi military operation to retake the strategic northern city of Mosul from Daesh Takfiri terrorists; stressing Iraqi forces will accomplish the task themselves. 

“I know that the Turks want to participate, we tell them thank you, this is something the Iraqis will handle and the Iraqis will liberate Mosul and the rest of the territories,” Abadi said following a meeting with visiting US Defense Secretary Ash Carter in Baghdad on Saturday.

 

The Iraqi prime minister added that the army, Kurdish and other local forces would handle the battle for Mosul.

“We don’t have any problems,” Abadi said, noting that the Baghdad government “will ask for help from Turkey or from other regional countries” if need be.

Carter, for his part, described the inclusion of Turkish military forces in the Mosul offensive as a difficult subject, stating that Abadi has already had negotiations with Turkish authorities over the matter and is likely to have more.

The Pentagon chief further said Iraq’s sovereignty was a key principle, stating that Washington will continue to offer assistance to Baghdad.

Ankara has been locked in a diplomatic row with Baghdad over the presence of Turkish troops at the Bashiqa military camp, located roughly 12 kilometers northeast of Mosul.

The Iraqi government says the troops are there without Baghdad’s permission, and has frequently called for their withdrawal.

Turkey, in return, has been defiantly rejecting Iraq’s opposition to the deployment of its forces in the Arab country’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, adamantly seeking a role in Mosul recapture at the same time.

Iraqi forces some 5 kilometers away from Mosul

Also on Saturday, Interior Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Karim Sinjari said Iraqi forces were five kilometers away from Mosul, adding that there were strong indications of public uprising against Daesh in the city.

Sinjari , who is also the acting KRG defense minister, went on to say that the battle to liberate Mosul would not end anytime soon as Daesh militants in the city, believed to number between 4,000 and 8,000, would fiercely seek not to lose their last stronghold in Iraq.

Nearly 30,000 Iraqi army soldiers, fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish Peshmerga forces are taking part in the military operation to retake Mosul from Daesh.

 

Abadi urges Ankara, Riyadh to avoid meddling in Iraq affairs

Haider al-Abadi has called on Turkey and Saudi Arabia to stop interfering in the domestic affairs of his country, which is engaged in a campaign against the Daesh terrorist group.

“We want the good of Saudi Arabia and Turkey provided that they do not interfere in the domestic affairs of our country,” he told a forum of Muslim scholars and politicians in Baghdad Saturday.

The opening of the 9th session of the Supreme Council of the World Assembly of Islamic Awakening in the Iraqi capital coincided with the country’s ongoing push to retake its second city of Mosul from Daesh terrorists.

Turkey is adamantly insisting that it wants to play a military role in the Mosul recapture despite Iraq’s opposition, triggering a serious diplomatic row between the two neighbors.

Ankara has deployed troops to a base near Mosul, claiming that they were there to train Kurdish militants for the battle against Daesh.

Abadi said Turkey had sent troops without the Iraqi government’s request, adding Ankara is not battling Daesh but is trying to expand its outreach. Ankara, he said, did not help Baghdad when it was requested.

In the run-up to the Mosul operation, Saudi Arabia replaced its ambassador to Baghdad, who had repeatedly drawn the ire of Iraqi leaders for his meddling remarks. The kingdom downgraded its representation to the charge d’affaires level.

Without naming any country, Prime Minister Abadi said there are countries that support terrorism for their own benefits while others are seeking to sow sectarian discord.

“Daesh did not come to existence overnight. Certain sides used to support the group,” he said.

Takfiri terrorists, he said, do not distinguish between Muslims or abide by any principles, adding they are trying to sow sectarian divisions.

Abadi said Iraq is capable enough to counter Daesh and terrorism, calling on the country to remain united. “We will hopefully fight and defeat the Takfiri terrorism,” the prime minister added.

Islamic Awakening alive despite hurdles

Speaking at the summit, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said that the Islamic Awakening movement enjoys public support and continues to thrive despite obstacles and challenges in its way.

“Today, abundant opportunities have arisen in the region and Muslims are obligated to continue down their path with Islamic Awakening against the Takfiri ideology,” Velayati said.

Five years since the beginning of the wave of Islamic Awakening, enemies and opponents have practically failed to stop the movement even through creating Takfiri groups and hatching plots for partitioning countries, the Iranian official said.

He further slammed the Saudi regime for its covert role in all crises in the region, from Syria and Iraq to those in Yemen, Libya and elsewhere.

Saudi Wahhabism is using its petrodollars to sow discord in the Muslim world, he added.

Under an enemy plot, Muslim countries in the region have today been occupied with issues such as Daesh and Takfiri terrorism so the occupation of Palestinian territories by the Israeli regime would no longer be their priority, the official pointed out.

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