Turkey to gradually hand over Bashiqa military base to Iraq

Turkey will gradually hand over control of its Bashiqa military base in northern Iraq to the Iraqi government, Ankara and Baghdad announced on Wednesday, in a move both sides described as aimed at strengthening Iraqi state authority.

The base has long been a point of friction between the two neighbours, with its Turkish military presence in northern Iraq a recurring source of tension in bilateral relations over the years.

Easing a long-running dispute

The announcement frames the handover as a step toward resolving that tension, with both governments signalling a shared interest in transferring control of the facility to Iraqi authorities in phases rather than all at once.

Neither side detailed a specific timeline for completing the gradual transfer, nor did they specify what a phased handover process would look like in practice.

The move follows broader recent engagement between Baghdad and Ankara on security matters in northern Iraq, including efforts to address the presence of armed groups in the region as part of a wider push to reinforce Iraqi state control near its border with Turkey.