sputnik_news_logo_204_7presstv_logo_5First of all, this lines up with what was reported in the ITCW post of 12-17-15. According to the PressTV article below, they said it was a "miscommunication with the government of Iraq over the deployments of Turkish protection forces."

Withdrawal of Turkish Troops From Northern Iraqi Province Underway

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On December 4, Turkey deployed about 150 troops and 25 tanks to the Bashiqa camp in the northern Iraqi province, without Baghdad's approval, allegedly as part of an international mission to train and equip Iraqi forces to fight Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh in Arabic).

Ankara started withdrawing its troops on December 14, after Iraq had officially filed a complaint with the UN Security Council, calling on the United Nations to ensure an immediate pullout of the Turkish forces from its country's territory.

"Turkey, in recognition of the Iraqi concerns and in accordance with the requirements of the fight against DAESH, is continuing to move military forces from Ninewa [Nineveh] province that were the source of the miscommunication," the ministry said in a statement.

On Friday, US President Barack Obama urged his Turkish counterpart to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Iraq and take additional steps to deescalate tensions with the country, including by continuing to withdraw Turkish military forces.

Turkey says miscommunication caused Iraq troop deployment

Turkish Foreign Ministry says "miscommunication" with Iraq caused its recent troops deployment in the northern Nineveh province.

The announcement was made via a statement released on Saturday, which added that Ankara will continue to recall some of the troops from the Bashiqa military base.

Tensions have been running high between Baghdad and Ankara particularly since December 4, when Turkey deployed 150 heavily armed soldiers backed by 20 to 25 tanks to the base where it claims it is training Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters battling the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

"Turkey ... acknowledges the miscommunication with the government of Iraq over the deployments of Turkish protection forces...," read the statement.

On Friday, US President Barack Obama called on his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to withdraw his country's troops out of Iraq and respect its integrity.

Baghdad also called on UN Security Council to adopt a resolution, urging Turkey to end its "illegal incursion" and immediately withdraw all of its troops from the Iraqi soil.

Over the past few days, thousands of Iraqi protesters have staged demonstrations across the country to denounce the Turkish deployment of military forces.

Turkey has already withdrawn some troops from the camp, reportedly by moving them to another base inside Iraq's Kurdistan region.