Turkey and Iraq Agree on Gradual Handover of Bashiqa Military Base

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged deeper security cooperation at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Turkey and Iraq have agreed to a gradual transfer of Ankara’s military base in Bashiqa to Baghdad, according to a statement released by the Iraqi prime minister’s office. The announcement followed a meeting on Wednesday between al-Zaidi and Erdogan on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York. The Iraqi prime minister’s office stated, "Within this framework, they reached an agreement on fully establishing state authority in Sinjar and ending the presence of outlawed foreign armed elements," referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has maintained a presence in the mountainous Sinjar region of northern Iraq. The two sides also agreed to expand the volume of bilateral trade and investment, implement signed agreements immediately, and accelerate joint strategic projects, particularly the Development Road project. The decision to transfer the facility addresses a longstanding flashpoint between the two neighbors. Turkey first established the base in Bashiqa, northeast of Mosul, in December 2015 through an agreement with the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government to train local forces fighting the Islamic State (ISIL/ISIS) group. The deployment of up to 600 Turkish soldiers drew criticism from Baghdad, which viewed the presence as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. The Sinjar region has long been a focal point for Turkish military operations targeting fighters from the PKK. Cross-border operations in Sinjar had eased following a landmark peace process between Ankara and the PKK in 2025, paving the way for federal authorities to assert control over the border zone. Wednesday’s accord caps months of efforts by Baghdad to consolidate state authority over northern flashpoints while aligning with Ankara on trade corridors and security coordination along their shared frontier.