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Hürriyet Daily News (1 October 2026)

Türkiye’s Defense Ministry has announced a phased handover of the Bashika-Zilkan military base to Iraq following an agreement between Ankara and Baghdad.

“[The compound] will be gradually handed over to Iraqi authorities in accordance with an agreed mechanism and timeline, within the framework of the progress achieved by the central Iraqi government’s security implementations in Sinjar,” local media quoted ministry officials as saying during a weekly briefing on Oct. 1.

The decision was taken during a meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meetings. Iraq had announced that all banned armed groups, including PKK, will be expelled from Sinjar, as part of Baghdad’s efforts to establish security across the country.

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