Nineveh begins taking over its security file and announces: Partial withdrawal of Turkish forces from Zilkan
Nineveh begins taking over its security file and announces: Partial withdrawal of Turkish forces from Zilkan
2026-11-03
Shafaq News – Nineveh
The head of the security committee in the Nineveh Provincial Council, Muhammad al-Kaka’i, announced on Tuesday the launch of official procedures for the Nineveh police command to take over the management of the security file throughout the province, in implementation of a decree issued in this regard, noting the start of a partial withdrawal of Turkish forces stationed at the Zilkan camp in northern Iraq.
Al-Kaka’i told Shafaq News Agency that the checkpoints department in the Nineveh Police Command has officially begun taking over the entrances to the province, starting from the center of Mosul city, as well as the checkpoints located in various districts and sub-districts, in a preliminary step to fully extend local security control.
He added that this step comes within a well-thought-out plan to end military displays inside cities and redeploy military units outside residential areas, so that the local police take over responsibility for internal security, in direct coordination with intelligence agencies.
Regarding the issue of the Turkish military presence, the head of the security committee noted a partial withdrawal of Turkish forces and equipment from the Zilkan camp, explaining that this withdrawal came after the end of their missions in the region and the disappearance of the threat of ISIS and the groups that Ankara considered a threat to its national security, in preparation for ending this issue gradually and completely.
On October 20, Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said that his country would keep its forces in Iraq until it could ensure that border security was guaranteed.
Less than a month ago, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan linked his country’s gradual reduction of its military presence in Iraq to Baghdad’s implementation of its plan to disarm armed groups, primarily the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its affiliated groups in Sinjar.
Fidan said that Ankara would take steps in this direction after the armed group’s presence in the region was ended, during a press conference he held at the Turkish House in New York City.
shafaq.com
