On Friday, Turkey sent troops into Iraq.
Here’s a video of the deployment shared on social media:
Contrary to what you might have read, there’s really nothing unusual about that.
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What’s different this time around, is that this isn’t a Kurd-chasing mission.
In fact, if you believe the official line, it’s the exact opposite. Turkey has apparently had some 90 troops on the ground in Bashiqa “for two years” on a mission to “train” the Peshmerga. The new troops – around 150 personnel supported by two dozen tanks- will “take over the mission,” according to Hurriyet. “Turkey will have a permanent military base in the Bashiqa region of Mosul as the Turkish forces in the region training the Peshmerga forces have been reinforced,” the daily continues, adding that “the deal regarding the base was signed between Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani and Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu, during the latter’s visit to northern Iraq on Nov. 4.”
