The Iraqi and Turkish governments agreed on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, to gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zlikan camp in northern Iraq from Turkish forces to the federal government, as part of a security understanding that also includes fully asserting Iraqi state authority in Sinjar and ending the presence of banned foreign armed groups in the area.
The agreement followed a meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zeidi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in New York, held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. The two sides discussed various aspects of the strategic relationship between Baghdad and Ankara.
Mechanism and timetable for handing over Bashiqa camp
A joint statement issued after the meeting said the two countries had agreed to deepen security cooperation and coordination, linking the handover of the camp to Iraq’s progress in implementing the agreed security measures. The statement said Turkish forces would gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zlikan camp to the Iraqi federal government under the mechanism and timetable agreed by the two sides.
The military facility is located in northern Iraq near the city of Mosul. An Iraqi military commander familiar with the talks said the gradual withdrawal of Turkish forces from Bashiqa camp and another small base near Mosul was expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Security understanding on Sinjar and armed elements
The joint statement did not specify the details of the handover stages or the numbers of troops and equipment involved. The security understanding included an agreement to fully establish the authority of the Iraqi state in the Sinjar area of Nineveh Governorate and end the presence of what the statement described as “banned foreign armed elements”.
The clause refers to Kurdish fighters, some of whom are based in the mountainous Sinjar area of northern Iraq. Türkiye is pursuing a political and security process that it hopes will lead to the disarmament of Kurdistan Workers’ Party fighters and end a conflict that has continued for decades. The presence of armed groups in northern Iraq, particularly in areas near the Turkish border, is one of the main security issues in relations between Ankara and Baghdad.
The start of Türkiye’s deployment near Mosul
Türkiye deployed forces near Mosul in 2015, saying their mission focused on training and protecting Iraqi forces, alongside local Sunni Arab, Turkmen and Kurdish fighters preparing to battle Islamic State, which seized control of Mosul in 2014.
The Turkish deployment at the time led to a dispute with the Iraqi government, which demanded the withdrawal of the forces from its territory, while Ankara said their presence supported the mission to train forces taking part in the fight against Islamic State. Türkiye still maintains several bases in the area and says its deployment is intended to protect its national security.
Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Türkiye and special envoy for Syria and Iraq, welcomed the agreement, saying the move served “both Iraqi sovereignty and Turkish security”. The talks were not limited to security matters: al-Zeidi and Erdoğan discussed bilateral relations, trade and investment, and agreed to expand economic cooperation and accelerate the implementation of agreements previously signed by the two countries.
The joint statement stressed the need to accelerate the strategic projects being implemented by Baghdad and Ankara, foremost among them the Development Road project, as part of the two countries’ efforts to strengthen trade and transport links and expand their economic partnership alongside the security understandings.
