Turkey’s Demands Complicate Battle Plan to Retake Mosul From Islamic State
Plans for a pivotal offensive to uproot Islamic State from the Iraqi city of Mosul are running into unexpected complications from Turkey, which is pressing the U.S. and Iraq to incorporate its allies into the battle’s fighting force. Ankara’s demands to include a Turkish-trained Sunni force are threatening to fracture an uneasy alliance of diverse […]Tamer El-Ghobashy and Dion Nissenbaum write for The Wall Street Journal:
Plans for a pivotal offensive to uproot Islamic State from the Iraqi city of Mosul are running into unexpected complications from Turkey, which is pressing the U.S. and Iraq to incorporate its allies into the battle’s fighting force.
Ankara’s demands to include a Turkish-trained Sunni force are threatening to fracture an uneasy alliance of diverse Iraqi fighters in what could be a turning point in the war against Islamic State.
The Turkish pressure on Baghdad has triggered new demands from influential, rival Shiite militias, which are rethinking their agreement to play a more limited role in the fight for Mosul, according to Iraqi officials—throwing a wrench into delicate negotiations over the battle plan.
