Iraqi legislator warns against Turkey’s attempts to ‘seize control of Mosul, annex it’

“Turkey has been [aggressively] seeking to take control of Mosul and annex it to its own territory. Its attempts in this regard date back to 2014, and are still going on,” Muhammad al-Shabki told Iraq’s Arabic-language al-Maalomah news agency in an exclusive interview on Thursday.

“The Turks have long been forging ahead with a plan in [Iraq’s northern province of] Nineveh. It is not simply limited to targeting PKK positions, but rather entails other objectives.”

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The Iraqi legislator said, “Under the plot, devised before 2014, the United States was supposed to take control of Mosul and the Turkish consulate there was set to be in charge of its administration. Today, Ankara’s attempts to seize control of the northern Iraqi city have become overt through attacks on the region, and its annexation bids.”