Arrest warrant issued for ex-Mosul governor over ties to Turkey

BAGHDAD

The Judiciary Council said on Oct. 20 that a complaint against al-Nujaifi was submitted by three lawmakers from Ninevah province in late 2015, shortly after the Turkish troops were deployed to a base in Bashiqa. It said the investigation concluded on Oct. 18, when two eyewitnesses from inside the camp testified at court.

The presence of Turkish troops in Iraq has increased tension between the two neighbors. Baghdad says the troops are there without permission and has called on them to withdraw. Ankara has refused, and insists it will play a role in the ongoing military operation to recapture Mosul from jihadists.

Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News, a Turkish official claimed that there had been no contact between Ankara and Atheel al-Nujaifi since the ruling of the Iraqi court.