ISTANBUL – Turkey says it will withdraw more troops from northern Iraq and acknowledged there has been a miscommunication with the Iraqi government over the issue.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced late Saturday the government "in recognition of the Iraqi concerns and in accordance with the requirements of the fight against Daesh (Islamic State), is continuing to move military forces from Nineveh province."
The move follows an appeal from President Barak Obama, who called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday and urged him "to take additional steps to de-escalate tensions with Iraq."
The Ankara-Baghdad spat has been an unwelcome setback to U.S. efforts to accelerate the fight against Islamic State extremists.
Baghdad considers the Turkish troops an illegal incursion and has demanded their immediate withdrawal at a U.N. Security Council meeting.
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