MESOP : UPDATE MOSUL TODAY – We Are Awaiting PM’s Order to Attack the Turkish Troops: Hashd Al-Shaabi / The Turkish presence on Iraqi soil is an invasion, Hashd al-Shaabi deputy commander says

Basnews English – 1 Nov 2016 – ERBIL — The Iraqi Shiite militia forces known as Hashd al-Shaabi said on Tuesday that they are awaiting for prime minister’s order to attack the Turkish troops stationed near Mosul.

Hashd al-Shaabi’s deputy commander, Abu Mahdi Muhandis, stated on Tuesday that the presence of the Turkish troops in Nineveh province is considered a transgression against the Iraqi sovereignty. Hashd al-Shaabi’s mission is to protect Tal Afar town in western Mosul and control the main way between Mosul and Syria to prevent the Islamic State (IS) militants from crossing into Raqqa, he said. Muhandis also revealed that their militia forces are waiting for PM’s order to attack the Turkish military stationed in the camp in Bashiq district in northern Mosul.

The Turkish troops are tasked with training the Nineveh Guards forces, a military group led by the Nineveh former governor Atheel al-Nujaifi. Most of its members are former members of the security apparatus of Nineveh which was defeated by IS in June 2014. Ankara and Baghdad have been locked in disputes over the presence of the Turkish military in northern Iraq since Turkey is strongly opposing the participation of the Shi’ite militias in the assault which created tensions with the Shi’ite government in Baghdad. www.mesop.de