Battle of Mosul

Iraqi forces have fully retaken east Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a top commander said on Jan. 18, three months after a huge offensive against the jihadist bastion was launched.

Elite forces have in recent days entered the last neighborhoods on the eastern side of Mosul, on the left bank of the Tigris River that runs through the city.

Ankara and Baghdad are waiting to sign a memorandum of understanding regarding the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency's (TİKA) future role in the neighboring country after Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is removed from Iraq.

Iraqi forces joined flanks in northern Mosul and drove back the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants in the southeast on Jan. 12 in a renewed push that has brought them closer to controlling the eastern half of the city. 

Sunni Arab tribal fighters trained by Turkey at a camp in northern Iraq have proven their battlefield mettle, the United States said Jan. 11. 

After months of preparation and supported by the U.S.-led coalition's air power, the Iraqi army finally started its military operation to retake Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Oct. 17, 2016. Since then, the operation has maintained a slow but steady progress, reaching the Tigris River by Jan. 8.

Not too long ago, it was only three months ago when Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi issued harsh statements against Turkey. During Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım's recent visit to Iraq, al-Abadi was constructive and is expected to visit Turkey in March or April. 

Turkey and Iraq have agreed that Turkish troops will withdraw from the Bashiqa camp in northern Iraq after the end of the Mosul offensive, but Baghdad wants the camp to immediately be turned over to Iraq, Iraqi Ambassador to Ankara Hisham al-Allawi said.

Turkey will not withdraw its troops from the Bashiqa military camp in northern Iraq until the end of the Mosul offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a Turkish official has told the Hürriyet Daily News, elaborating on talks held during Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım's recent trip to Iraq. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a phone call to Turkish troops in Iraq's Bashiqa camp on Jan. 8, paraising them for "standing against oppression."

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said that Turkey's Bashiqa camp in Iraq, which had caused a row between the two countries, would be resolved in a "friendly manner."