Bashiqa

Turkey's warming relations with Russia will not hamper its alliance with other countries, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş has vowed, saying Ankara will continue to pursue a "multidimensional" foreign policy. 

Washington has reiterated its support for Iraq's territorial sovereignty amid a spat between Turkey and Iraq before an operation on Mosul to liberate it from jihadists. "As we have repeatedly made clear, the United States supports Iraqi unity and sovereignty," the U.S. State Department said Oct. 11.

In her second debate with the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Oct. 10, Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton said she was considering "arming the Kurds" because they are the "best partners in Syria and Iraq" against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).

Turkey will not accept orders from Iraq regarding the Bashiqa military base, stated Turkish Presidet Recep Erdogan, cited by the Anadolu Agency.

The presence of Turkish troops at the Bashiqa base near Mosul aims to protect the territorial integrity of Iraq and to remove jihadist terrorists from the country, the main opposition leader has said, lending rare support to the government in a row with Baghdad, which has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Turkish military from the camp.  

Ongoing instability in Iraq and Syria has affected Turkey more than any other country, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Oct. 10. 
"The situation to our south in Iraq and Syria affects our country, Turkey, the most," said Yıldırım on Oct. 10 during his speech at the opening ceremony of the 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul. 

The Mosul operation has started, while a symbolic opening kickoff will be conducted in the coming days.  I will try to convey the parameters of the Mosul operation, within the context of its effects on Turkey. Mosul has been in the hands of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) since June 2014. 

In just the past decade, Turkey has turned from being lauded as a "model country" to being termed a "patria non grata" (unwanted country) by its Western allies and neighbors. 

The dramatic change occurred for many reasons, such as the failure of "the moderate Islam model" after the Arab Spring, the United States' policy change in Syria and, finally, the U.S. deal with Iran.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants attacked Turkish troops in the Bashiqa military camp in northern Iraq with artillery fire and an unmanned drone on Oct. 9.
Turkish howitzers responded to the attack with fire and destroyed ISIL targets, while the drone was downed with a Stringer rocket.

Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) militants attacked the Gedu base near the Bashiqa training camp in northern Iraq on Oct. 9, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the artillery attack on the Gedu base.