Turkish army sources said Saturday they had been training Peshmerga forces in four provinces in northern Iraq to combat Daesh, as the government said it was sending in 150 fresh troops. At least 150 Turkish troops entered Iraq's Mosul province, along with about 25 tanks, Turkey's official Anadolu Agency reported. The deployment was first announced by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday. Iraqi President Fuad Masum provided a statement shortly after: "The presence of the Turkish Army forces in Mosul Province without our permission is violating international rules. I want Turkish officials to get the force out of Iraqi territory immediately." Authorities from the Kurdistan region announced not long ago that the fresh troops are in Mosul to replace the current Turkish trainers. According to Anadolu, the Turkish military sources revealed that at least 2,500 Peshmerga have been trained by the Turks. They have reportedly trained the Kurdish forces in "homemade explosives and to use heavy machine guns, mortars and artillery. They also offered first-aid training program," according to the agency. They fresh Turkish troops will be deployed in the Mosul region as well as the Soran and Qalacholan districts near the Iranian border. Mosul fell to ISIS on June 10. The defeat was a humiliation for the Iraqi Army, with many troops known to have abandoned their weapons and uniforms as they fled the ISIS onslaught. According to the Anadolu report, the first Turkish troops were sent to the region more than two years ago aimed to train the Kurdish forces.
