At a Glance

• Iraq and Turkey reached an accord for the complete withdrawal of Turkish forces from the Zilkan camps.
• The withdrawal directly mirrors Baghdad's ongoing initiatives to end the presence of all foreign troops.
• The National Security Advisor led a high-ranking security delegation to Turkey to deliver an official request from the Prime Minister.
• Al-Zaidi and Erdogan are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to formally announce the final withdrawal timeline.

Channel8 has learned that a high-ranking Iraqi security delegation recently met with the Turkish Foreign Minister, as Ankara expressed readiness to withdraw its forces, echoing the planned drawdown of U.S. and Coalition troops. The Iraqi Prime Minister and Turkish President are also scheduled to meet in New York to address the issue.

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Key Statements and Focus Area

• According to Senior  Iraqi security sources who spoke to Channel8, Turkish forces will vacate Zilkan camps in Nineveh’s Bashiqa, by the end of this year, and will hand over the camps to the Iraqi government and army in a coordinated manner.
• Ali Al-Zaidi and Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet on the sidelines of the United Nations meetings in the coming days, where they will announce the withdrawal of Turkish forces from both camps along with the timeline for the withdrawal.

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Iraq and Turkey have reached an agreement regarding the withdrawal of Turkish forces from the Bashiqa military base, within the framework of Iraq's decision to withdraw all foreign forces. 

Security officials told Channel8 that a high-ranking Iraqi security delegation led by Qasim al-Aboudi, the National Security Advisor of Iraq, recently traveled to Turkey, where they met with their counterparts and the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. 

The purpose of the visit was to officially convey Baghdad's request to Ankara to withdraw from Iraq, and they delivered an official letter from Iraqi Prime Minister al-Zaidi in this regard to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The outcome of the meeting between the Iraqi and Turkish security delegations was positive, and Turkey welcomed it. 

According to information provided to Channel8, following the meeting of the security delegations, the Turkish President contacted the Iraqi Prime Minister and expressed readiness for the withdrawal by the end of this year.

Furthermore, al-Zaidi and Erdogan set to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations meetings in the coming days, where they will announce the withdrawal of Turkish forces from both camps along with the timeline for the withdrawal.

A portion of the discussions between the security delegations was dedicated to the presence of Turkish forces inside the territory of the Kurdistan Region and along the borders. 

The Iraqi government held the view that this matter concerns both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Turkish government, and Baghdad will not be overly insistent on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from those areas, as Turkey has its own justifications for protecting its borders.

FYI

The Zilkan camp was established by Turkey in the Nineveh Plains in 2015 to train local volunteers following the fall of Mosul to ISIS. 

While the base originally operated with local coordination, the federal government in Baghdad has consistently condemned the fixed facility as an unauthorized violation of Iraqi sovereignty. 

Turkey’s broader military footprint in the Kurdistan Region is distinct from Bashiqa, consisting of dozens of smaller observation posts and logistics bases stationed deep within the mountainous border regions of the Kurdistan Region. 

This breakthrough agreement follows the scheduled culmination of the U.S.-led International Coalition’s military mission in Iraq. 

Under a landmark bilateral accord with Washington, all Coalition forces must complete their systematic drawdown and exit the country by the final September 30 deadline. 

Baghdad is leveraging this transition to historic total military sovereignty to mandate that neighboring foreign militaries, including Turkey, establish similar withdrawal timelines from non-border bases.

Al-Zaidi arrived in New York for the 81st UN General Assembly on Monday to address world leaders.

On the sidelines, he is holding a high-stakes bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss regional security, disarmament, and the transition of the U.S. military presence in Iraq. 

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