Türkiye to begin handover of Bashiqa base to Iraq

ANKARA

Türkiye and Iraq have agreed to begin the gradual handover of the Bashiqa military base near Mosul to Iraqi federal authorities, following progress in efforts to end the presence of PKK in the region, the two countries said in a joint statement on Nov. 8.

“Türkiye declares that... it will begin taking the necessary steps for the gradual transfer of the Bashiqa-Zilkan facility to the Iraqi federal government,” the statement said.

The two sides also agreed to activate a Joint Security Coordination Committee to monitor the complete termination of PKK’s presence in the region.

The announcement follows a Sept. 23 meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in New York on the sidelines of a U.N. General Assembly, after which the two countries said Turkish forces would gradually hand over the base to Iraq.

At the time, the process was said to be conditional on Iraqi armed forces establishing security in the Sinjar region, suggesting that Türkiye’s withdrawal from Bashiqa would take place over an extended period.

Turkish officials have described the agreement with Baghdad as a critical element in the broader process aimed at securing PKK’s disarmament.

Sinjar, located along the Iraqi-Syrian border, has long been a security concern for Ankara because of the terror group’s presence there and its ability to coordinate activities across the two countries. The organization has also used the Qandil-Makhmur-Sinjar corridor to maintain its regional operations.

Located near Mosul, the Bashiqa base has been a major point of contention in Ankara-Baghdad relations since Turkish troops established a presence there in 2015.

Türkiye initially deployed forces to the base under an agreement with the Kurdish regional government to train local forces fighting ISIL. Baghdad, however, objected to the deployment, viewing it as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

The base came under attack by ISIL members in 2017 and Iran-backed armed groups in 2021.

Turkish troops remained at the facility after the territorial defeat of ISIL and used it to coordinate operations against PKK in Iraq.

Under a memorandum of understanding on military and security cooperation and counterterrorism signed in 2024, Türkiye and Iraq agreed to establish a joint training and cooperation center at Bashiqa.

The agreement also placed the management of the base under the Iraqi armed forces, paving the way for the gradual transfer now set to begin.