In Turkey: Government says has duty to protect its soldiers carrying out training in Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday Baghdad might turn to the U.N. security council if Turkish troops sent to northern Iraq were not withdrawn within 48 hours.

Turkey has a duty to protect its soldiers around the Islamic State-controlled Iraqi city of Mosul and the reason for their presence there is simply to train and advise Iraqi colleagues, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday Baghdad might turn to the U.N. security council if Turkish troops sent to northern Iraq were not withdrawn within 48 hours.

Speaking in an interview on Turkey's Kanal 24 television, Cavusoglu said Abadi had repeatedly requested more active Turkish support against Islamic State and said he believed that other countries had played a role in Iraq's reaction to the deployment, without elucidating.